It's easy to be pessimistic about the future of short film. After all, why should it be that one of the most flexible, creative and exciting art forms in existence is also one of the most overlooked? While the fanfare surrounding their feature-length cousins grows louder by the day, the typical short will struggle to make itself heard; having to rely almost exclusively on word-of-mouth to survive. Specialist film festivals are a welcome support the world over, but what about those who cannot afford to pay the submission fees or embark on the essential publicity tour? The rise of social media may have made it just that little bit easier for aspiring filmmakers to reach a ready-made audience, but the downside means that there has never been a tougher time to stand out from the crowd. Which is doubly frustrating when you consider the fact that, as a short typically marks those tentative first steps into the business, your new favourite director could -already- very well be denied their voice. But if you've ever found yourself at a short film festival or, indeed, binging on one YouTube playlist after another, you'll know that there's hope yet. It has long been established that, yes, a disparate bunch of ten-minute animations, say,
can offer as much creativity, originality and wit as the latest Hollywood noise. In fact, in many cases, the short film outshines its big-budget rivals - and not simply because it's catering for the audiences with the smallest attention spans. If all this sounds rather trite, then think of the shorts Pixar use to introduce their features: Day & Night, La Luna and Paperboy to name but three recent examples. Clever, funny, poignant - and all without uttering a single word. And just why are they so memorable? Well, the animated feature is the perfect format with which to explore universal themes. Every style, every mood, every nationality can make it their own. And so it is that we find the ten examples below. Each entry has enjoyed success and acclaim in international film festivals and although a handful have previously run against each other for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Animated Short, please note that they are not in competition here- and so the list is not presented in rank order. Instead, they are as representative a selection as any of the variety and quality that the short film has to show. It just so happens that they're all awesome.