The eclectic New Francophone Shorts (NFS) programs bring together the best of new animated creations from emerging and established filmmakers. Selections are chosen from lauded festivals including Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Anima—The Brussels Animation Film Festival, and Les sommets du cinéma d’animation.
These films are in competition for Best Francophone Short. This year’s jury is composed of film curator Marco de Blois, filmmaker and animator Candy Kugel, and illustrator Marcos Chin. The NFS programs are co-curated by filmmaker Michael Enright and festival curators Chloé Dheu and Delphine Selles-Alvarez.
5 shorts, 70 min
Honorable Mention, 2024 Animation First Film Festival Shorts Competition: Maurice’s Bar, dir. Tom Prezman, Tzor Edery
Aaaah !
Dir. Osman Cerfon, 2022, France, Color, DCP, 4 min 40
Without dialogue or commentary
A charmingly grotesque animated short that explores the spectrum of childhood emotions in a world where they attempt to dance to the tune of adults.
Peeping Mom (Le Sexe de ma mère)
Dir. Francis Canitrot, 2023, France, Color, DCP, 14 min 53
In French with English subtitles
US Premiere
50-year-old, strong-willed Éli is his mother’s caretaker, and the job is testing his resolve. Intrusive and lustful, his mother is nostalgic for her wild youth, and sex is her obsession. This darkly humorous film, which combines stop motion and 3D animation, was a Cannes Film Festival selection.
La perra
Dir. Carla Melo Gampert, 2023, France, Colombia, Color, DCP, 14 min 5
Without dialogue or commentary
In Bogota, a bird-girl leaves behind the family home, her domineering mother, and her faithful dog to explore her sexuality.
Maurice's Bar
Dir. Tom Prezman, Tzor Edery, 2023, Israel, France, Color, DCP, 15 min
In Arabic and French with subtitles
NY Premiere
In 1942, on a train to nowhere, a former drag queen remembers a night from her past in one of Paris’ first queer bars. Remnants of customer gossip recall this mythic bar and its mysterious Jewish-Algerian owner.
Christopher at Sea
Dir. Tom CJ Brown, 2022, France, United Kingdom, United States, Color, DCP, 20 min
Christopher embarks on a transatlantic voyage as a cargo ship passenger. A chance encounter with an engineer sets him on a journey into solitude, fantasy, and obsession.