Despite the challenging year, we are incredibly delighted to have been able to put together what might be our strongest program so far. With the partnership of UNICEF Italia, at La Grotta dei Piccoli we are excited and ready to take our younger audience through a journey, bringing them closer to the ever-evolving world of animation. We are inviting them to open their eyes to new ways of telling stories and ultimately encouraging them to be curious by exploring their own creativity.

The 100 animated short films that we have selected for this year come from all over the world and celebrate diversity, human emotions and the connection to nature.

Some stories will make us travel through new cultures, some will take us back in time and others will make us experience the everyday struggles and concerns through the eyes of a child.
With each and every edition the festival’s mission gets stronger and stronger and so does the one of La Grotta dei Piccoli, we are determined to be part of this change and inspire the new generations in the best way we can.

Curated by: Valeria Weerasinghe

#LaGuarimba2021

CAMBUR SELECTION

ONLY A CHILD

Simone Giampaolo | 2020 | 6′ | Switzerland

A visual poem which gives shape to the words spoken by 12 year-old Severn Suzuki at the United Nations’ Rio Summit in 1992.

LITTLE FOREST

Paulina Muratore | 2020 | 8′ | Argentina

A friendship between Mizu and a small tree.

SONGES

Dorian Escourrou | 2020 | 3′ | France

The wanderings of a mother and her young daughter, survivors of a world devastated by the rising waters.

THE FOURFOLD

Alisi Telengut | 2020 | 7′ | Canada

An exploration of the indigenous worldview and wisdom based on the ancient shamanic rituals and animistic beliefs in Mongolia and Siberia.

THE LONELY ORBIT

Frederic Siegel, Benjamin Morard | 2019 | 9′ | Switzerland

A satellite technician’s inability to cope with his solitude causes a chain reaction in space and in his own mind.

PILAR

Yngwie Boley, J.J. Epping, Diana van Houten | 2020 | 9′ | The Netherlands

A dangerous intruder gives Pilar the chance to discover the wild animal within herself.

SIGNS

Dustin Rees | 2020 | 11′ | Switzerland

An electrician follows his nightly routine setting up signs in the city.

JUST FOR THE RECORD

Vojin Vasovic | 2020 | 7′ | Serbia/Canada

In an abandoned attic, dictaphone robot REC desperately tries to connect to the bird that stops on its window.

HELFER

Szöllősi Anna | 2020 | 10′ | Hungary

A young woman wants to end her struggle with anxiety and recurring nightmares.

SAD BEAUTY

Arjan Brentjes | 2020 | 10′ | The Netherlands

In a heavily polluted world, a young woman mourns the disappearance of animal species.

THORNS AND FISHBONES

Natália Azevedo Andrade | 2020 | 10′ | Portugal/Hungary

Three young children and their mother cope with living in a peculiar and inhospitable house.

ROBERTO

Carmen Córdoba González | 2020 | 9′ | Spain

Roberto has been in love with her neighbor for 15 years, but she prefers to hide ashamed of her body.

KAPAEMAHU

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson | 2020 | 8′ | United States

Kapaemahu reveals the healing power of four mysterious stones on Waikiki Beach and their dual male and female spirits within them.

SHOOOM'S ODYSSEY

Julien Bisaro | 2019 | 26′ | France & Belgium

Shooom, a baby owl, hatches just as a storm turns the bayou surrounding her tree upside down.

GHOST TOWN

Jessi Meliza | 2020 | 3′ | United States

A lonely ghost leaves the house trying to find a way back to normal life.

IVET AND MICHUCO

Juan Ignacio Meneu Oset | 2020 | 5′ | Spain

Ivet is a 6-year-old dreamy girl with an extraordinary imagination.

OLLIE

Anton Setola | 2020 | 4′ | Belgium

In the middle of a very busy city there is a peaceful place where you will find Ollie, the little blue owl and his friends.

MEOW OR NEVER

Neeraja Raj | 2020 | 9′ | UK/India

In a madcap musical, a catstronaut travels the galaxy looking for the meaning of life.

VALS & RUMBA

Laura Delgado, Eduardo Rodriguez | 2020 | 6′ | Spain

A story about a statue that dreams and Rumba, a very special robot cleaner that works in a museum.

BROKEN ROOTS

AsimTareq, Sarah Elzayat | 2020 | 4′ | Jordan

Adam is a 10-year-old boy who personifies his discomfort with a black tree in the middle of the desert.

A MISTAKEN HAERT

Nicoletta Manno, Chiara Loiacono, Elena Tham Basilico | 2020 | 5′ | Italy

A grammatical mistake can create big trouble and a correction done the wrong way can cause senseless fears.

BLUE BOTTLE

Jenny Wright | 2020 | 7′ | UK

A story of independence about a hot water bottle who learns to embrace the cold.

FINDING A WAY

Gianpaolo Di Costanzo | 2020 | 2′ | Italy

Approaching reality through a systematic and creative method. Observing the world we are immersed in to understand and learn about it.

WOULD YOU PLEASE?

Ada Güvenir | 2020 | 4′ | Turkey/Belgium

A modern day love story in the right place but at the wrong time.

GIRLS TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL

Paola Sorrentino | 2021 | 7′ | Italy

What it is like to be a girl in a boys world? Six girls share their own experiences playing woman’s football in a male-dominated sport.

RE-ANIMAL

Rubén Garcerá | 2021 | 13′ | Spain

A series of crimes are devastating the city and there is only one person who is capable of finding the culprit: Toni Clues.

LITTLE GREY WOLFY. FALL TRAVELERS

Natalia Malykhina | 2020 | 6′ | Norway/Russia

Fall is upon us: birds flying South. Little Grey Wolfy also wants to go on a trip with the birds.

BLOOMING

Montse Piñeiro Torres, Rubén Abad | 2019 | 3′ | Spain

A tribute to handmade work made from the heart.

A CAT CALLED JAM

Lorraine Lordan | 2019 | 8′ | Ireland

A cat from out of town tries to befriend three dogs.

URSA - THE SONG OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Natalia Malykhina | 2021 | 10′ | Norway/Russia

Little polar bear Ursa is looking for his mum. On his way, Ursa meets different Arctic animals. Will Ursa still meet his mum?

SORRY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND

Natalie Feoktistova | 2020 | 6′ | Belgium/Russia

A careless foreign student without knowledge of the local language tries to reach the school.

YOU SOLD MY ROLLER SKATES?

Margaux Cazal, Jeanne Hammel, Louis Holmes, Sandy Lachkar, Agathe Leroux, Léa Rey-Mauzaize | 2020 | 6′ | France

A series of strange and revealing encounters begin when Lou starts looking for his beloved rollerskates.

GOODBYE ROBIN!

Sophie Barocas, Emilie Damiens, Dongsan Kim, Quỳnh-Phương Nguyễn, Michelle Ong, Olga Serdyukova & Jasmine Veljanovski | 2020 | 6′ | France

Mika is reminded of his childhood as he looks at a flower.

COLZA

Victor Chagniot, Camille Broutin, Matthieu Daures, Victoria De Millo Gregory, Maxime Jouniot & Jade Khoo | 2020 | 5′ | France

A young lizard named Clarence steals a precious plane while the whole village is distracted by a concert.

MATILDA AND THE SPARE HEAD

Ignas Meilūnas | 2020 | 13′ | Lithuania

A girl who wants to be the smartest person in the world.

LEAF

Aliona Baranova | 2020 | 6′ | Belarus

Huge sailor gets an autumn leaf from a small girl which reminds him of his home.

TALES FROM THE MULTIVERSE

Magnus Igland Møller, Mette Tange, Peter Smith | 2020 | 7′ | Denmark

God is a single parent and amateur programmer working on project ‘Earth’.

CARROUSEL

Jasmine Elsen | 2020 | 10′ | Belgium

Rose grows up with her snails in their park. One day she is attacked by intruders. Or is it the other way around?

ALTAÏ

François Lagorce & Jean Lagorce | 2020 | 6′ | France

Munzuk and his daughter Mine are two Mongols from the Altaï peaks. Mine will be confronted to a divine entity.

ASTRALIUM

Lucie Andouche | 2020 | 4′ | France

A little girl meticulously builds up an ecosystem in order to create a little perfect world.

THE ZUCCHINI'S SMILE

Lucas Ansart | 2020 | 7′ | France

Myia and Aristote live from gluglu hunting, cloud-animals that allow them to grow courgettes in the desert.

ME, A MONSTER?

Belinda Bonan | 2020 | 6′ | Spain

The lonely Nono must deal with the visit of a new being on his small planet.

GYROSCOPE

Gabriel Böhmer | 2021 | 3′ | UK

A young child finds magic and adventure when searching for a mysterious gyroscope in his grandparents’ home.

THE LITTLE BANG

BAE Jihyeon | 2020 | 7′ | South Korea

Two stars crossed celestial bodies striving to close the distance.

THE EDGE

Zaide Kutay, Géraldine Cammisar | 2020 | 7′ | Switzerland

A withdrawn truck driver collides with his parallelism and the world goes off the rails.

SHEEP, WOLF AND A CUP OF TEA

Marion Lacourt | 2019 | 12′ | France

At night a child invokes a wolf from the bottom of a box hidden under his bed.

KIRI AND LOU: SHINE YOUR LIGHT

Harry Sinclair | 2020 | 5′ | New Zealand

Kiri and Lou laugh, sing and play all kinds of games with their friends in the prehistoric forest.

ALIEN FARMER

LEE Yong-wook | 2021 | 10′ | South Korea

A round-shaped alien makes an emergency landing on an earthling farmer’s yard.

BE BIG

JEON Da-young, KIM Min-gyung, HAN Seo-a | 2019 | 4′ | South Korea

A tiny monster named Geomdaeng struggle to success in checking school attendance.

SHINE, TREE!

LEE Hyun-mi | 2020 | 11′ | South Korea

There is a tree that loves a flower. One day the flower disappears.

I'LL BE YOUR SIDE

LEE Ju-I | 2021 | 6′ | South Korea

Doong-yi was born with a different appearance than others and has always been stared at by other people.

MITCH-MATCH

Géza M. Tóth | 2020 | 2′ | Hungary

A blue-headed matchstick embarks on a playful journey.

MUM IS POURING RAIN

Hugo de Faucompret | 2021 | 27′ | France

Jane is spending Christmas at her Grandma’s where she meets new friends.

INCOMPLETE WOMAN

Huh Su-young | 2020 | 10′ | South Korea

A woman’s body is found dismembered except for her lower body and the left hand.

IT'S ALL THE SALT'S FAULT

María Cristina Pérez | 2020 | 10′ | Colombia

The youngest daughter of a family of sloths rebuilds her parents’ and three siblings’ stories.

I WANT TO BE THE OCEAN

Raman Djafari | 2020 | 1′ | Germany

People from a small community recite a poem admitting to their doubts.

DAT'S REAL GOOD?

Marc Faye | 2021 | 4′ | France

On 23 February 2005, the radio announced a law project about the benefits of French colonisation. This announcement disrupted the daily life of Louise and her family.

EN RANG PAR DEUX

Margherita Giusti, Elisabetta Bosco, Viola Mancini | 2020 | 7′ | Italy

Afif, originally from Tunisia and Aliou, from Senegal talk about friendship, immigration, freedom and about the value of making music together.

CRAZIEST THINGS

Sacha Beeley | 2020 | 3′ | UK

Official music video for Babeheaven.

FATA MORGANA

Daniella Bokor, Leanna Berkovitch | 2019 | 11′ | Israel

Christina, Anna, and Rachel are three nomads. What brings a woman to wander alone?

THE TOWER

Sunčana Brkulj | 2020 | 4′ | Croatia

As years and years go by, a tiny civilization makes its way upwards.

AUDACIOUS

Qieer Wang | 2020 | 3′ | China/United States

Official music video for Ian Chang.

SUNSHINE MAKES ME

Julia Specht | 2020 | 4′ | Germany

Official music video for Autralian musician Joel Sarakula.

ZARA AND THE OTHERS: MISS MISS

Nils Johan Lund, Bjørn Sortland | 2020 | 13′ | Norway

Zara has never heard of a “Miss-competition”.

BILL N BACK

Olivier Brisson | 2021 | 7′ | Canada

A blue wolf and a pink rabbit who are conjoined twins must adapt and work together in order to survive.

THE LITTLE BIRD AND THE BEES

Lena Von Döhren | 2020 | 4′ | Switzerland/Germany

High above, the little bird enjoys the flowers of its maple tree.

DUETT

Jojo Wolff, Heribert Schulmeyer | 2019 | 7′ | Germany

A voyage of music and whimsical drawings that create an unconventionally poetic tale.

FINAL ACT

Miguel Amendola-Borrallo, Clara Obeidi, Yohan Gantelet, Lucie Krencker, Geoffrey Rakotoarisoa, Antonin Géral-Ariès | 2019 | 8′ | France

Cheetah’s season has arrived. André and Philip establish the ultimate hunting technique.

BLACK SNOT & GOLDEN SQUARES

Irina Rubina | 2020 | 1′ | Germany/Russia

A little something for the worried souls.

THE PARROT LADY

Michalis Kalopaidis | 2020 | 7′ | Cyprus

A woman afraid of dying alone in her home chooses to live on the streets with her parrots.

BEYOND THE LINE

Jinuk Choi | 2020 | 3′ | United States/South Korea

A wheelchair dreams of one day being fast like a racing car.

WET & SOPPY

Cliona Noonan | 2020 | 4′ | Ireland

A weather-tormented man is forced to use the local laundromat each evening.

HOW MY GRANDMOTHER BECAME A CHAIR

Nicolas Fattouh | 2020 | 10′ | Lebanon/Germany

An ageing grandmother loses her five senses and becomes a wooden chair.

MY TAGALONG

Jerry Wang | 2020 | 7′ | Canada

Two Gemini brothers’ journey on the earth.

HOT DOG

Flore Burban, Logan Cameron, Nicolas Diaz, Chloé Raimondo, Hugues Valin | 2019 | 6′ | France

A lonely dog falls in love with a female dog. He will do everything possible to seduce her.

GHOSTS

Michael Hughes | 2019 | 4′ | UK/Germany

A short film about people who were important at one time have now become ghost-like figures who live in the past and memories.

THE ABANDONED BLOCK

James Bourne | 2020 | 6′ | Canada

After years of neglect a forgotten block of marble emerges as one of the most beautiful works of art.

YOLK

Bianca Scali | 2020 | 3′ | France

11 year-old Bianca decides to quickly pee before going to school.

NESTLING

Marat Valerievich Narimanov | 2020 | 7′ | Russia

A friendship between a lonely old man and a helpless nestling, confronted by a group of ignorant boys.

HORACIO

Caroline Cherrier | 2020 | 10′ | France

Guillaume kills Horacio because “he was shouting too loud”. At his trial the vacuity of the motive disconcerts.

COCKPERA

Kata Gugić | 2020 | 4′ | Croatia

A short opera inspired by Aesop’s fable The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle.

STEP INTO THE RIVER

MA Weijia | 2020 | 15′ | China/France

As the one-child policy has led some families to drown baby girls, Lu and Wei have a special relationship with the river.

TRONA PINNACLES

Mathilde Parquet | 2020 | 13′ | France

Gabrielle finds herself stuck near Death Valley, between two parents who no longer speak to each other.

SALMON MEN

Veronica L. Montaño, Manuela Leuenberger, Joel Hofmann | 2020 | 6′ | Switzerland

While salmon men are swimming upstream in a testosterone-driven race, women indulge themselves in a fertility dance at the source of the river.

HIPPOSTEROUS

John Hill | 2019 | 3′ | United States

Jack and Lovey go on a wild adventure.

SOGNI AL CAMPO

Magda Guidi, Mara Cerri | 2020 | 9′ | France/Italy

A boy is looking for his cat along a river.

WITH HUMAN EYES

Angelo Mastrolonardo | 2020 | 5′ | Italy

A chef wanders through a desolate city when he meets a starving homeless man. Inspired by the Cucine Solidali movement.

GEN TREE

Ronni Shalev, Alon Sharabi, Hod Adler | 2020 | 3′ | Israel

What is it exactly that the generations misunderstand about each other?

LILIANA

Milanka Fabjancic | 2019 | 7′ | Slovenia

A poetic narrative from another time and place with a touch of nostalgic past.

THE CHAIR FACTORY

Lee Zeilingher | 2020 | 5′ | Israel

In a systematic world, chairs guide the daily order. One chair is defined as the best place to get to but no one knows how.

LUPINO

Lucia Carlini | 2020 | 2′ | Italy

A wolf is in love with the moon. He decides to reach the highest mountain to always be with his beloved.

TO THE LAST DROP

Simon Schnellmann | 2021 | 6′ | Germany

In the rhythm of the dripping chemo, an IV-pole fights for the life of a cancer patient.

THE FLYING HANDS

Giovanni Meola | 2020 | 8′ | Italy

Simon falls in love with the piano played by his grandfather. What will Simon do when his grandfather disappears?

CHASING STARS

Laura Aldofredi | 2019 | 2′ | The Netherlands/Italy

A magic journey of a young girl who’s looking for her home in the Arctic. She’s helped by a special friend.

ODD SOCKS

Charlotte Heyman | 2021 | 4′ | Sweden

Socks go missing in the deep darkness of the laundry machine. A unique glimpse of what’s going on while you are not watching.

THE ABC OF BREAKUPS

Susann Hoffmann | 2021 | 3′ | Germany

The emotional development after the end of a relationship in the form of a song.

LE CRI

Charlotte Chouisnard, Ninon Dodemant, Baptiste Leclerc, Solène Michel, Justine Parasote, Anouk Segura-Diaz | 2020 | 6′ | France

A dreadful scream pierces through the silence of a sleepy residence.

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

Clarisse Tronchon, Florian Ojeda Diop, Manon Mergnat | 2020 | 7′ | France

Soraïva wants to get in a temple in order to found a treasure.

MIDO AND THE ISTRUMALS

Roman Guillanton | 2020 | 6′ | France

Mido lives alone and loves to sing. One day a musical band of animals stops at his home.

ANGRY DOGS

Shayn Clark | 2020 | 5′ | United Kingdom

When sleeping dogs awaken rationality quickly disappears.

LITHUANIAN FOCUS

RUNNING LIGHTS

Gediminas Šiaulys | 2017 | 11′ 

The unfortunate death of a wild hare turns into a remarkable experience for children.

MR. NIGHT HAS A DAY OFF

Ignas Meilūnas | 2016 | 2′ 

A comically big space called Mr. Night is turning everything dark with the touch of his finger to turn day into night.

WOODS

Ignas Meilūnas | 2015 | 12′ 

An old hermit scientist tries to catch the mythical creature in order to fill his Exclusive Collection.

GRANDMA'S PANCAKES

Dominyka Adomaitytė & Vykintas Labanauskas | 2019 | 2′ 

A shortfilm about a grandmother patiently waiting for a visit.