2019 San Diego International Kids Film Festival- Short Films

A Big Mission USA |6 min Short |Animation Director: Longyin Zhou, Yujie Chen Synopsis: After killing all the dinosaurs, a baby devil was promoted at work, but must now destroy humankind. The baby moves into a bigger house, however, the furniture in the house does not allow the baby to leave to go to work. Will the baby devil complete his big mission?.      A Home for Curiosities USA | 17 min Short | Fantasy Director/Writer: Ben Tobin Producer: Shannon Ryan, Ben Tobin Synopsis: A young boy discovers a house full of imaginary friends. With his friend, he helps bring these creatures back to the real world to meet new human companions.   A Monster Day Taiwan | 14 min Short | Experimental Director/Writer: Chan Ning Producer: Coco Synopsis: A five-year-old’s mother is stressed out, and after suppressing her stress for too long, she turned into a monster one morning. Now the young girl has to take care of her monster mom..     A Prickly Pair USA | 5 min Short | Animation Director: Mia Andrea Producer: Lynn Pratt Synopsis: A man's quest for water becomes unexpectedly complicated when he stumbles upon a sentient cactus..   a White Dog over the Fog South Korea| 14 min Short | Family |Drama Director/Writer: Seung-hee Jung Synopsis: A girl moves to a foggy seaside village and encounters a lone white dog tied to an anchor. The girl, afraid of the outside world, and the dog that has never gotten out of its world, struggle to take a step toward the unknown world beyond the fog.     Bear in the Mirror USA | 3 min Short |Animation Director/Writer: Yuxin Zhao Synopsis: A story about how a teddy bear brings a little girl and her mother together, and depicts how to face life after the loss of a loved one. Arapaho Truths USA | 30 min Short |Documentary Director: George Giglio Producer: Dara Weller Synopsis: The Northern Arapaho People of the Wind River Indian Reservation of Wyoming are story tellers. To pass their culture to the next generation the Elders tell the children four traditional stories, using clay animation, shadow puppets, paintings, drawings and performance, the children make the stories come to life.     Headphone USA |10 min Short | Science Fiction Director: Rio Jiang Producer: Jingru Xu Synopsis: A college boy find out there has some mystery things happened in his headphones……   Beeju USA| 4 min Short | Animation Director/Writer: Brian Cheng Synopsis: In a world where knights are armed with the forces of Chi, Shao and Morhan must arrive in Nawia within one day as Soma's army approaches.     Beware of Fault Lines Canada | 10 min Short | Animation Director/Writer: Amanda Lo Synopsis: In a landscape of magical realism, a shy Chinese girl struggles to figure out her identity, as a little monster steals her cultural stories and uses them to separate her from her family.   Bit Stop Brazil | 12 min Short | Animation Director: Belli, Rubens Writer: Cargnin Filipe, Tenfen Maicon, Grynszpan Ricardo Producer: Belli Studio Synopsis: Boris uploads an embarrassing video of Enzo to the “interpetnet” without Enzo’s consent. A lamp genie transports the two into the interpetnet, where they attempt to stop the uploading of the video at any cost.     Blue and Curt Canada | 2 min Short | Comedy Director: Jesse Cote Producer: Jesters Animation Synopsis: A stubborn little monster receives some advice from a clever little bird.   Chocolate Chip Cookies USA | 13 min Short | Comedy | Drama Director: Tianzhao Zhang Writer: Tianzhao Zhang, Jinghui Jia Producer: Lingyu Meng Synopsis: To complete the entry test of the Bravery club, a friendless young boy puts laxatives into chocolate chip cookies and delivers it to a creepy old man living next door, but ends up finding friendship with him.     Como Jugando Peru | 21 min Short | Fiction Director: Berenice Adrianzén Zegarra Synopsis: After two boys return home after a long day at school, they go out to play and find “treasure” when they meet another boy, a neighbor who decides to accompany them on the adventure.   Contos Divertidos Os 3 Porquinhos Brazil | 6 min Short | Animation Director: Marco Botana Synopsis: The classic tale of the three little pigs depicted in a way that provides anyone, no matter where, with the ability to understand to the tale.     Dunk France | 20 min Short | Drama Director/Writer: Martin, Sophie Producer: d'Autryve, Nicolas Synopsis: A teenage girl with a sturdy personality, and captain of her city's basketball team, is struck by a tragic car accident involving her parents. She prefers to hide the truth from her friends, but she must learn how to integrate herself into society and overcome her anger and sadness. Basketball is the key for her seemingly impossible adaptation.   EGG CAR Taiwan| 11 min Short | Animation Director: Chang, Kai-Hsiang Writer: SUN, ANRAN Producer: MING-HSIEN, CHAN, SHU-WAN, YANG, JIANLI YANG, TAKAYA KUBO Synopsis: This is an adventure story about exploring, courage and problem-solving. There are different kinds of creatures with wheel-shaped feet on five islands. In order to rescue his village and family, Dash, an imperfect egg-shaped car starts a journey with his buddies.     Erin, Owen, and the Loch Ness Monster USA | 9 min Short | Animation Director/Writer/Producer: Nicholas Julius Synopsis: Scottish siblings escape the clutches of bullies in order to barely make it on time for their father’s Loch Ness tour boat, thinking the day will be uneventful.   First Disco Ireland | 18 min Short | Drama | Comedy Director/Writer: Helen O'Reilly Producer: Helen O'Reilly, David C. Lynch, Jim Sheridan Synopsis: A girl is not only experiencing her first crush, but she’s also going to her first disco. The only problem is that she’s getting nervous before her big night and is overwhelmed by self-consciousness. However, with the help of her best friend, she realizes what’s important in her life.     Flight of Freedom (Udne Do) India | 20 min Short | Drama Director: Aarti Bagdi Writer: Sulekha Bajpai Karkare, Aarti S. Bagdi Producer: Usha Kakade, Pallavi Rohatgi, Vinay Mishra, Raghavan Bharadwaj Synopsis: The film speaks to both children and adults, creating awareness for children in an empathetic storyline while modeling ideal behavior amongst parents and other authority figures in dealing with children.   Flourish USA | 6 min Short | Family Director: Christopher Allan Francis Writer: Christopher Allan Francis, David Schulz Producer: Christopher Allan Francis, Nicole Franco Synopsis: A rural boy learns the ways of nurturing greenhouse plants from his father, and soon realizes that true flourishing of life requires personal risk.     Foul Weather Friends USA | 2 min Short | Animation | Family Director: Dave Levy Synopsis: A little tree named Maple branches out by trying something new each day.   Glitter Model Temporada 2 Portugal | 22 min Short | Animation Director: Angelo Nunes Synopsis: The adventures of a girl and her two best friends, structured in a way that stimulates children to recognize their own inner shine.     Grandfather India | 11 min Short | Drama Director/Writer/Producer: Uma-Gaiti Uma-Gaiti Synopsis: The inseparable bond between a grandfather and his granddaughter demonstrates the permanence of love undeterred by the impermanence of the physical world.   Gum and Sauce Go to Skill School USA | 5 min Short | Animation Director/Writer: Chadwick Whitehead Synopsis: Gum pranks Sauce in order to take a photo for his class project. Clump helps Gum apologize but it makes matters worse. In the end, a sincere apology is made and an amazing photo is accidentally taken.     Ham Jam USA | 2 min Short | Comedy Director: Sage Drake Writer: Michelle Lewis Producer: Sanelle Sibanda Synopsis: A frustrated young actress entertains herself in a Los Angeles traffic jam.   Helen USA | 15 min Short | Drama Director: Ji Hyun Kim Writer: Julia Yu Producer: Danae Grandison Synopsis: Almost single-handedly raised by his nanny, a young boy is eventually forced to face the harsh truth about their close connection.     Heliocentric USA | 5 min Short | Animation Director: Mike McCraw Writer: Ray Hedgpeth Producer: Mike McCraw, Ray Hedgpeth Synopsis: Boxer, Verve, Campbell and Herman teach Naomi Money that the Sun revolves around the Earth, foiling her quasi-evil plan, and schooling her about Ptolemy, Galileo and Copernicus in the process.   Homo Ludens Turkey | 13 min Short | Comedy Director: Emin Fırat Övür Synopsis: During recess, beyond the classroom’s concrete walls, kids create micro-societies through hide and seek.     June Gloom USA | 10 min Short |Drama Director: Xander Bailey Synopsis: June struggles to get through a tense Thanksgiving dinner with her dysfunctional family. While she tries to keep it together, there is no denying that something dangerous is in the air. Reality gets blurred when she questions her instincts, putting everything in jeopardy.     Teenagers in The Capital China | 16 min Short | Drama Director: Weiji Miao Writer: Zhi Yang, Min Zhang Producer: Yu Tang There have 5 children flee from home by the war. They steal food from each other but finally become good friends. In the end, they built to defend their homes with their weak body’s mission, and use own power to protect theirs’ home.   Kid-E-Cats Russia | 5 min Short | Animation Director: Dmitry Vysotsky Writer: Dmitry Vysotsky，Darina Schmidt Producer: Karina Kabanova，Natalia Ivanova-Dostoevskaya Synopsis: Three little kittens take children on adventures that teach safety, the meaning of friendship and family, and how to think before acting.     Konrad & Paul Germany | 9 min Short | Drama Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Schill Synopsis: Paul, an outsider in his class, meets Konrad, who shows him that true freedom means being able to choose who you want to be.   Lemons USA | 3 min Short | Family | Comedy Director/Producer: Brian Petersen Synopsis: A quick glimpse into the fast-paced, high-stress world of lemonade selling.      Light Sleeper USA | 8 min Short | Family Director: Robin Sindler Writer: Robin Sindler, David Boerger Producer: Robin Sindler, David Boerger Synopsis: A little girl who won’t stay in bed at night finds herself in deeper and deeper trouble.   London's Home USA | 7 min Short |Documentary | Animation Director/Producer: Kristen McGregor，Jennifer Treuting Synopsis: When a fire destroys the apartment that a young girl and her family have called home for years, everything's suddenly different. Everyone's safe, but where will they stay?      Love Never Forgets USA | 14 min Short | Drama Director: Fred Grant Writer: Lynn Schneider, Fred Grant Producer: Julia Guo, Cici Lau, Merlin Showalter Synopsis: A story of a family’s affiliation with Alzheimer’s Disease depicted from the unique perspective of a five-year-old child.   Margo Hoo Couldn't Sleep! USA | 20 min Short | Animation | Family Director/Writer/Producer: Raul Gonzo Synopsis: As a result of being unable to sleep, a girl sneaks around her neighborhood at night causing mischief.      Mindfulness is Elementary USA | 7 min Short | Documentary Director: Geoffrey Chandler Synopsis: How do teachers and students react to the meditation techniques called “mindfulness” in this elementary school?   Miss Persona Canada | 3 min Short | Family Director: Brandon Lane, Matt Greyson Writer: Brandon Lane Producer: Kimberly Persona Synopsis: The Miss Persona web series gently approaches problem solving though dress-up imaginative play.      My Happy Heart – Lulu Australia | 3 min Short | Family Director/Writer: Hailey Bartholomew Producer: Alarna Zinn Synopsis: Children ought to take advantage of their power by asking themselves, “what makes my heart happy?”   My little brother, Seung-hyuk Korea | 20 min Short | Drama Director/Writer: Deok Geun Kim Producer: Seonghyuk Lim Synopsis: A boy has been sacrificing a lot for his older brother suffering from ADHD. He finds out that his single mother plans to leave home with his brother, but he refuses to let her and sends his older brother to school by himself.     My Shadow USA | 4 min Short | Family Director: Evan Kimball Plochmann Producer: Bryan P. Hughes, Zhang Haoyue Synopsis: An adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “My Shadow”.   Never Give Up: The Journey of Bassett Robotics USA | 30 min Short | Documentary Director/Writer/Producer: Vincent Precht Synopsis: Six inner city ten-year-olds defy all odd by making it to the World Championship of Robotics      Night USA | 4 min Short | Animation Director/Writer: Yoshi Makishima Synopsis: For everyone who is stumbling in the dark seeking connection, this film expresses the simple hope that we will be found.   Paradise Dwellers Iran | 9 min Short | Drama Director: Ramin Samani Synopsis: A little girl is alone at home with her paralyzed grandmother. The grandmother wants to use the toilet, but the girl isn’t able to take her there alone, and although her mother has told her not to interact with the neighbor’s son, she has no choice but to ask him for help.    Pink & Blue Canada | 2 min Short | Animation Director: Jesse Cote Producer: Jesters Animation Synopsis: Kids often receive unequal gender-related messages from the adults around them. These messages can be as simple as the toys we assign to boys and girls. In Pink & Blue, a group of toys are segregated by gender - until the day their world changes.   Playdate USA | 7 min Short | Drama Director: Matt Aaron Krinsky Writer: Eric Larner，Matt Aaron Krinsky Producer: Marco A. Elorreaga，Matt Aaron Krinsky，Julianne Homokay Synopsis: A boy and a girl find themselves stuck on a playground with no electronic devices and must rediscover how to play using their imaginations.     Pool Israel | 13 min Short | Family | Drama Director/Writer: Ido Weisman Producer: Hadar Hasina Masasa Synopsis: Standing between his shameful father and the popular classmates, the delicate balance in the water becomes unbearable for a boy.   Sommernachtskinder Germany |30 min Short |Comedy Director/Writer/Producer: Zara Demet Altan Synopsis: A love triangle emerges among high school students in Berlin. Two boys are both in love with one girl, and their struggle to get her attention ends up in a big fight involving the entire class.      Space Pups UK | 3 min Short | Animation Director: Joonas Utti Writer: Joonas Utti, Martti Sirkkola, Anttu Harlin, Maria O’Loughlin Producer: Anttu Harlin Synopsis: Dylan Dalmatian discovers it’s difficult to juggle being a universal space hero astronaut with baby-sitting little sister Dorothy Dalmatian.   Star Wars: The Toys Awaken USA | 7 min Short | Animation Director/Writer/Producer: Raymond Montemayor Synopsis: On the opening night of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a seven-year-old girl's Star Wars toys come to life. They learn who their characters are and set off on an adventure to help their young companion as she heads out to watch The Force Awakens.     Super Booba UK | 4 min Short | Animation Director: David Petrosyan Writer: Evgeny Eremeev， Olga Granovskaya Producer: Nikolay Okorokov，Vitaly Prokhorov，Dakeshi，Konstantin Kobzev，Vladimir Egorov，Olivier Bernard，Talgat Chinikeyev，Nurlan Zhumanov，Vladimir Dobrynin. Synopsis: Booba discovers superpowers that let him cope with unusual stuff, help a friend, and have fun.    Teddy Mate USA | 16 min Short | Fantasy |Drama Director: Rommel Villa Writer: Lydia Lane Producer: Damon Laguna, Anabel Inigo Synopsis: In a world where children bond with magical teddy bears that eventually transform into their perfect, human life partner; an optimistic and strong-willed young woman struggles when her teddy mate subverts expectations.      The Forest and the Trees Canada | 7 min Short | Animation Director/Writer: Choom Lam Producer: Oliver Sterczyk Synopsis: A determined mushroom conquers tumultuous emotions while journeying through a forest.   The Letter Germany| 12 min Short | Drama Director: Doc Miguel Synopsis: It's the second time a ten-year-old receives a letter from the class teacher to his parents. And his father had warned him: if he gets another letter for inadequate performance or disruptive behavior there'll be a hefty punishment. Looking for a way out of his dilemma, the young boy finally thinks about help from up above.     The Very Loving Caterpillar USA | 6 min Short | Animation Director/ Writer/ Producer: Sean Browne Synopsis: A caterpillar must save his family from the environment that once nurtured them.   They Shall Inherit the Earth USA | 14 min Short | Drama Director: Jason Koiter Producer/Writer: Jason Bernero Synopsis: Three young orphaned brothers struggle to adapt to life after the mysterious death of their parents.      Turn it around Israel | 16 min Short | Drama Director/Writer: Boaz Olandar Producer: Noemie Biegeleisen Synopsis: Three best friends living in south Tel Aviv are all children of immigrants and refugees. One of the boy’s parents work from morning to night just to support the family, leaving the responsibility of taking care of his little sister to himself.   Why Z? USA | 4 min Short | Animation Director/Writer: Asher Horowitz Producer: Jimmy Calhoun Synopsis: “Why Z?” follows the story of z, a lonely and shy letter stuck at the end of the alphabet. As he struggles to deal with the torment from his bullies at school, as well as everything else that comes from last in line, he constantly asks himself, “why z”?     Youth News@ PTS: History of Taiwan- This is a MUST SHARE Taiwan | 4 min Short | Animation Director: LU, Wei Chih Writer: YEH, Zhong Xin，WU, Liang Heng，NI, Shou En, WU, Wei Chi Producer: LAI Yan-ru Synopsis: In the era of the Great Voyage, the aborigines on the island of Taiwan have been in contact with the forces of the Netherlands, Japan and other countries at that time, and have even been included in negotiation and international conflicts.         Tuva youngster-Yongdeng China | 35 min Short | Documentary Director/Writer: Xiquan Zhang Producer: Hong Zhang Synopsis: China’s remote village development gradually, herding family began to have some knowledge of the city. Yongdeng, a young boy who has a big dream, his family hope that he can learn professional skiing and leave the countryside to touch the real world.