Animated Documentaries

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Real-life stories told through these remarkable animated documentaries offer a glimpse into the human experience, showcasing tales of hope, love, and triumph over adversity.

You will witness the power of kindness as one man offers solace to those contemplating suicide; the courage of individuals, whether it's a young skier risking all to aid fugitive pilots in war-torn Poland, or a young boy's struggle against an oppressive regime; the resilience of survivors as they embark on journeys of recovery, and share their adventures of unlikely friendships and profound transformations.

Get ready to be inspired.

Screenings

Hall 2 Kino Artis
Screening112202 / Animadokid
Screening duration
Trailer

Films

Soaked In

Local title
Ülearused
Original title
Director
Shiyu Tang
Country
China
Year
2022
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

At a humid and warm place, I existed.
The whitewashed "gender selection" takes place in two different spaces, where satisfaction and despair mingles.

Director
Shiyu Tang
Runtime
Language
Chinese
Subtitles
English, Chinese
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Magda

Local title
Magda
Original title
Magda
Director
Adela Kaczmarek
Country
Poland
Year
2022
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Podhale, Poland. Winter of 1939. Magda, an excellent skier, joins the Polish Resistance and helps by bringing documents and fugitives across the mountains into Slovakia. One day she learns that a group of 23 pilots urgently need to cross the border, as Gestapo is on their heels. She comes up with a risky plan.

Director
Adela Kaczmarek
Runtime
Language
Polish
Subtitles
English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Make or Break

Local title
Võitle või sure
Original title
Make or Break
Director
Mike Plitt, Falk Schuster
Country
Germany
Year
2022
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Alex and his mother live in the Vogtland region during the German Democratic Republic. When his mother publicly criticises the state, the youth welfare authorities decide to send Alex to a children's home. Once there, the eleven-year-old no longer understands the world. Why is he here? He longs for his family and makes several attempts to escape.

Director
Mike Plitt, Falk Schuster
Runtime
Language
German
Subtitles
English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Swimming with Wings

Local title
Ujumistiivad
Original title
Swimming with Wings
Director
Daphna Awadish Golan
Country
Netherlands, Israel
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

A short animated documentary exploring the immigration experience through the eyes of a little Israeli girl learning how to swim with clothes on in the Netherlands.

Director
Daphna Awadish Golan
Runtime
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Teacups

Local title
Tassike teed
Original title
Teacups
Director
Alec Green, Finbar Watson
Country
Australia, Ireland
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

For almost half a century, Don Ritchie would approach people contemplating suicide at the edge of a cliff, just 100 feet from his home, his palms facing up.

Voiced by Hugo Weaving, Teacups explores Don's surreal interactions with years of suicidal individuals and his journey to reconcile the suicide of his best friend.
The film asks, can a simple act of kindness save a life?

Director
Alec Green, Finbar Watson
Runtime
Language
English

Baltic premiere

Mariupol. A Hundred Nights

Local title
Mariupol. Tuhat ööd
Original title
Маріуполь. Сто ночей
Director
Sofiia Melnyk
Country
Ukraine, Germany
Year
2022
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Based on the real life events of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the film tells the story of a little girl who is woken up on February 24th by the air alert and tries to find someone alive in the burning city. The film references a poem by Ukrainian poet Vasyl Stus who was an active member of the dissident movement during the Soviet occupation.

Director
Sofiia Melnyk
Runtime
Language
Ukrainian
Subtitles
English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Rising Above

Local title
Ole üle
Original title
Přes střepy
Director
Natálie Natálie
Country
Czechia
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Animated documentary based on the real-life account provided by a survivor of sexually motivated violent assault and her journey of recovery as she comes to terms with the trauma.

Director
Natálie Natálie
Runtime
Language
English
Trailer

Madeleine

Local title
Madeleine
Original title
Madeleine
Director
Raquel Sancinetti
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Every week, two friends born 67 years apart share their life stories in a senior home's living room. The younger friend convinces the 107-year-old lady to join her in an adventure: a road trip to the sea.

Director
Raquel Sancinetti
Runtime
Language
French
Subtitles
English
Trailer

Baltic premiere

Nurit

Local title
Nurit
Original title
נורית
Director
Sohini Tal
Country
Israel
Year
2022
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2023
Programme
Doc@Shorts

Nurit walks us through her fascinating journey to motherhood, which begins in a silent birth, continues on to tens of fertility treatments and ends up in fixing the Eilat cemetery. There she finds closure.

Director
Sohini Tal
Runtime
Language
Hebrew
Subtitles
English
Trailer