Shorts Kids Animation Competition 1

Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026

Join us on a journey into imaginary worlds where stones, paper, fire matches, and fur come to life, and where even the most ordinary things can become the beginning of an adventure.
These films invite us to see the world from a child’s perspective: curious, playful, sometimes absurd, and always full of questions. How do we find where we belong? What does it mean to be different? Can we share what we have? And what happens when the person standing beside us sees the world in a completely different way?
Along the way, we meet characters who are learning how to navigate their own little worlds. Some are discovering how to control something that makes them different. Others face challenges that might make an adventure seem impossible. But being different does not mean being left behind. Sometimes, the very things that set us apart can help us recognise someone who needs us, too.

Evridiki Papaiakovou

Shorts Kids Animation Competition 1 is recommended for ages 4 and up.

Screenings

Screening090611 / Shorts lasteanima võistlusprogramm 1
Q&A duration
Screening duration

Films

Piccolo Piccolo

Local title
Piccolo Piccolo
Original title
Piccolo Piccolo
Director
Marta Gennari
Year
2025

A tiny mouse, wanting to forget her little worries, decides one day to climb a very high mountain.

Director
Marta Gennari
Screenwriter
Marta Gennari
Producer
Reginald de Guillebon
Co-producer
Nicolas Burlet
Runtime
Language

Bats & Bugs

Local title
Nahkhiired ja putukad
Director
Lena von Döhren
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Subject

When a lantern lights up on a road in the jungle, a group of insects goes crazy. This comes in handy for the hungry bats in a cave close by.

Director
Lena von Döhren
Screenwriter
Lena von Döhren
Producer
Sarah Born
Co-producer
Lena von Döhren
Cast
Lena von Döhren
Editing
Fee Liechti
Composer
Martin Waespe
Sound
Thomas Gassmann
Runtime
Language

Kargoosh (Deaf Ear)

Local title
Kurdid kõrvad
Original title
Kargoosh (Deaf Ear)
Director
Reza Sarbakhsh, Ali Jamali Motlagh
Country
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Subject

On the way home, Mahan, a happy and kind child, experiences an accident. Now he needs to be heard and cared for…

Director
Reza Sarbakhsh, Ali Jamali Motlagh
Screenwriter
Reza Sarbakhsh
Producer
Reza Sarbakhsh, Ali Jamali Motlagh
Cast
Hanieh Mortezazadeh
Cinematographer
Mohammad Hossein Sharifzadeh
Editing
Mesbah Farsi
Production Design
Zeynab Ghanad
Composer
Ruzbe Malek
Sound
Hamed Mirghiasi
Runtime
Language

Into the Forest

Local title
Metsa rüppe
Original title
Vers la forêt
Director
Antonin Niklass, Antonin Niclass
Year
2025

In a quiet stop-motion studio, a small monkey opens its eyes. Everything around it feels frozen. On a computer screen, a luminous jungle appears, distant, almost alive. With two companions, he sets out to create one of their own, using whatever they can find. A forest shaped by imagination, their only way out.

Director
Antonin Niklass, Antonin Niclass
Screenwriter
Cécile Vargaftig
Producer
Isabelle Zampiero
Cast
Oshi Orangutan
Cinematographer
Marco Jörger
Composer
Fabio Amurri
Sound
Etienne Kompis
Runtime
Language

A Very Special Meal

Local title
Väga eriline eine
Original title
Das besondere Futter
Director
Elena Walf
Year
2025
Festival
PÖFF Shorts 2026
Programme
Subject

Lena's dog wants the expensive dog food! While Lena is negotiating with the dealer, a duck sneaks out of the dealer's car. Only the dog seems to have noticed…

Director
Elena Walf
Screenwriter
Elena Walf, Simon Thummet, Barbara Kuznetsova
Producer
Thomas Meyer-Herrmann, Miljana Dragicevic, Thomas Meyer-Hermann
Co-producer
Miljana Dragicevic
Cast
Lena´s Dog
Sound
Luis Schöffend
Runtime
Language