Animated Shorts 2026: Program Two
RiverRun is an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the category of Animated Shorts, meaning the winner in this category may submit for Academy Awards consideration. Sponsored by Zaloo’s Canoes.
Anorgasmia (a.k.a. All the Things We Do to Survive)
Two lost souls in search of a volcano.
At Night
In the midst of war, a man watches his beloved one by lighting the three matches he has left. Then, in the pitch darkness, a forest grows from their lovemaking and protects them from the war.
Back on Track
After a random shooting left him paralyzed at age 18, Chris Rivera rediscovered life through his love of basketball. 20 years later, he leads the Triad Trackers, redefining success beyond wins and losses.
Beat the Lotto
When downtrodden 1980s Ireland inaugurated a National Lottery, people began to dream. But mathematician Stefan Klincewicz noticed a flaw in the game and attempted to fix the draw, causing an extraordinary public battle with the Lotto that divided the nation. Who will win in the end?
Because Today is Saturday
It’s Saturday, and a woman struggles with the difficulty of reconciling her home life and her need to escape.
Beetle Summer
A young girl who lives in the countryside of Japan is raising a rhino beetle for beetle fights in order to gain friends. But before then she needs to train and nurture it.
Blackout
It’s the Eid holiday. We’re in an apartment building that is owned and lived in by three generations of a very conservative family. When the elderly grandfather gets sick, his daughters believe that his illness is because of bad luck brought on by a young woman who rents an apartment in the building.
Blu’s
Growing up freely in harmony with nature, witnessing her beautiful environment being swallowed up by industrialisation, Blu decides to fight for the wildlife, meadows, rivers, and trees before they disappear completely.
Braid Crowns
Two teens, separated by the rivalry of their family’s barbershop and salon, must navigate a way to do each other’s hair before prom.
Cameraman
In the late 90s, a newly immigrated Iranian cameraman finds himself adrift in London. Struggling to adapt, he must decide whether to risk his family’s limited savings on a stranger’s offer—one that promises a way back to the identity he once knew.
Can’t Go Over It
Two friends embark on their annual hiking trip only to discover there might not be enough connection to keep up the tradition. Filmed while the cast/crew slept in tents and backpacked up the tallest mountains in New York.
Carcassone-Acapulco
As flight 7836 reaches cruising speed above the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendant are startled by an unexpected knock at the door! Chaos and confusion ensue as the crew enter a long and meandering debate regarding the stranger’s fate: should they open the door, or not?
Casa
A group of 20-year-olds pursue their fashion dreams at Casa 93, a unique institute offering a last chance for some and a new beginning for others, capturing their transformative journey through an extraordinary year.
Cindy Tran: From Here to Here
From family estrangement to New York City’s overlooked restaurants, Cindy Tran’s poems capture what’s hidden, honest, and beautiful about being human. She invites us into the in-between, where we embrace difficult experiences and reimagine the possibilities of poetry.