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Dear Basketball
Kobe Bryant had a legendary 20-year career but before he was ever drafted, he had a deep infatuation with the game. In this animated film, the icon reads his love letter to basketball over hand-drawn illustrations, directed by Disney animator Glen Keane. The short was played at his jersey retirement ceremony and is now up for an Academy Award.
Dreaveler
In the future, science has greatly expanded the lifetime of humans, to the point where natural death is nearly an unheard of experience. The Dreaveler corporation has stepped in to fill the gap, offering a kind of VR euthanasia for those ready to shed the mortal coil.
Up and Above
The rise of drones has taken aerial photography to new heights, giving us a unique perspective on the world around us. In this short film, Bogdan Teodorescu takes advantage of this medium to capture a different angle of the landscapes of Romania.
The Floor is Lava
As a kid, we all pretended that the floor was lava as we hopped from a pillow to the couch. Well, RocketJump imagined that childhood scenario in real life. In this short film, three roommates must navigate their lava-filled apartment to get to safety without getting scorched by the liquid hot magma.
Gremlins: Recall
Christmas came early this year. After almost three decades, Gremlins has returned. Although it's not an official third film, this fan-made short is the next best thing. The Ryan Patrick-directed story follows a shady salesman who claims to have found a medication to keep your mogwais cute and fuzzy but like any good movie anecdote, there are always a few exceptions.
The Working Man
You hate your job. You've had it with your boss. What do you do? Spend a year animating a seven-minute short showing exactly how you feel. Tim Searfoss did exactly that in this excellent piece of storytelling about being a drone on the line.
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Nomodo Trio
People love nothing more than their coffee and their smartphone. The Nomodo Trio ensures both are at their best. Equipped with a fast wireless Qi charger and a heating plate, it's like giving two gifts in one. The desktop charging mat makes sure your phone stays juiced all day while its neighbor keeps your morning cup at the perfect temperature. Switch it to chill and the cooling feature can also keep iced beverages cold. Each set comes with a matching mug but also can be used with your favorite cup.
Presented by Nomodo.
Sprezzabox
SprezzaBox is a top rated subscription company that ships you five new items each month. And they do it all at a price that won't break the bank. A personal curator tests out and hand-picks the items like ties, wallets, sunglasses, socks, and watches every month. Subscriptions start at just $28 and promise over $100 in retail value. High quality, great value products delivered right to your door.
Presented by SprezzaBox.
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ADAM: The Mirror
Over a year later, Oates Studios finally has a second chapter in the ADAM story. A tiny bit more is revealed about the cybernetic main character, after a brutal journey from a walled city governed by a mysterious entity called the Consortium. An oracle reveals Adam's past, and how he came to be what he is now.
Blade Runner Black Out 2022
This is it — the third and final prequel short in the leadup to the release of Blade Runner 2049. This beautiful anime, directed by Cowboy Bebop's Shinichiro Watanabe, fills in another piece of the puzzle in the timeline between the original Blade Runner and the upcoming film.
Blade Runner Blackout 2022
Shinichiro Watanabe, director of Cowboy Bebop, is creating a Blade Runner anime short set a few years after the first movie. According to Wantanabe, Blade Runner was a huge influence on him and his style. This teaser highlights concept art a few seconds of animation from the upcoming film.
Game of Thrones: Conquest & Rebellion
Season seven of Game of Thrones is long gone, but HBO has been keeping our obsessions alive with a behind-the-scenes feature and now this animated prequel. Told in storybook style, the short series tells the history of the Seven Kingdoms — going back long before Robert's Rebellion. The first chapter focuses on the origin of House Targaryen, while the remaining legends will only be available with limited DVD and Blu-ray releases on December 12, 2017.
Bury Me with the Lo On
If you grew up in the 90s, you know about the Lo. Ralph Lauren's Polo brand was ubiquitous — jeans, shirts, sweaters, hoodies. You couldn't take a step anywhere almost in America without seeing the polo player logo looking back at you. So how did a designer brand go from Fith Avenue to America at large? The Lo Lifes. This New York City boosting gang made a logo into a culture. Watch how it happened in this short documentary narrated by one of the gang's founders.
The History of National Parks
Although Yellowstone National Park was established in the late 1800s, the National Park Service wasn't officially formed until 1916 — over 100 years ago. That's a whole lot of time to cover. So to make sure you get the full story without burning several hours on a complete documentary, filmmaker Ryan Maxey pieced together a timeline, going back as far as the Big Bang, in this abridged version of the history of our National Parks.
LEGO Grand Theft Auto
Nukazooka may have just found the premise for the next Lego Movie when he mashed Grand Theft Auto and the plastic toy bricks together. We'd totally watch a feature film-length version of Tommy Vercetti ripping through a Lego Vice City, but for now, we'll savor for this three-minute romp through the sidewalk.
Apocalypse Now Now
Baxter Zevcenko has it pretty good. He's the head of a high school crime ring, nobody messes with his business, and he's got the girl he's always dreamed about — until he gets kidnapped by a shamanistic bounty hunter named Jackson Ronin. In this short based on the South African novel of the same name, Baxter watches Jackson summon something not of this world in the slums around Capetown.
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Trade Coffee
The freshest coffee from some of the best roasters on earth. That's what Trade Coffee offers, recommending and sending delicious, roasted-to-order coffee from their 50-award-winning roasters. Take the six question quiz and get matched to a personalized subscription based on how you like to drink coffee. This is the freshest coffee you've ever tasted as it is not roasted until you hit order. With over 400 specialty coffees on their site, you are guaranteed to discover coffee perfectly suited to your tastes for one of the best deals you'll find anywhere. Enjoy 50% off + free shipping when you subscribe.
Presented by Trade Coffee.
Grado Wireless Headphones
Leaning on decades of audio experience, Grado took their time developing their first Bluetooth headphone. It was worth the wait. The GW100 delivers the effortless detail and power the brand is known for, using the same signature drivers. Their open-back design is a world first for Bluetooth headphones and has been built to reduce escaping sound by up to 60% compared to wired open-backs. And while the wires might be missing, Grado's timeless design language remains intact, ensuring they look great with any ensemble.
Wireless: Bluetooth 4.2 with apt-X / Battery Life: 15 hours / Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz / SPL 1mW: 99.8 dB / 3.5 cable with Remote and Mic included
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Nexus: 2036
Thirty years have passed between the original Blade Runner and the upcoming Blade Runner: 2049. Jared Leto's character, Niander Wallace, is introducing a perfected line of replicants meant to get the ban against them lifted. Three short films are coming before Blade Runner: 2049's release, giving an overview of events in the decades between the films.
Ghosts of the Arctic
Capturing polar bears in their natural setting is a rare event. Because they make their home on the sea ice of the Arctic Circle, photographers must endure -30ºC temperatures, frozen terrain, and equipment failures to get a glimpse of the maritime bear — but those who do get big rewards. Filmmakers Abraham Joffe and Dom West describe the difficulties of shooting on Earth's northernmost territory and the payoff that comes along with it.
Saving Throw
There might be bars on the windows and nothing to wear but orange jumpsuits, but there's still a way be free. Dungeons & Dragons offers a way for prisoners across the US to be someone else for a moment — and leave the harsh realities of jail life behind. Two former maximum security inmates are back on the outside and using D&D to work their way back into society.
LEGO Breakfast
The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast is — LEGOs? A morning meal fit for a minifig champion is prepared in this stop-motion short from BrickBros. Eggs and toast with jam are on the menu, all made from the finest bricks.
Dream Makers
If it's on the screen, it probably isn't real. But that doesn't mean it takes a less talented group of people to make the magic happen. Honda celebrates the creativity and work it takes to bring a dream from the brain to the screen in this short film.
Zygote
On an asteroid mining station, something has killed most of the crew and assimilated them into a terrifying beast. One low-ranking crew member is left, and the race is on to try and get off the asteroid before it's too late. Zygote is another wicked release from Neil Blomkamp's Oat's Studios.
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Where Ideas Come From
Inspiration. A spark. The muse, the beginning, the idea — where does it come from? David Lynch, Chuck Close, two kids, and several others discuss inspiration, ideas, and how they get them in this entertaining short film.
God: Sergengeti
The latest short from Neil Blomkamp's Oats Studios finds the Man Upstairs gleefully playing with his creations. With the help of His butler, Geoffrey, we find that if we are created in his image, He's kind of a jerk. Sharlto Copley stars in this irreverent look at Creation.
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Sands of Jakku
So what happens in the Star Wars universe when the cameras aren't rolling? The first short in the animated Forces of Destiny series follows Rey and BB-8 on an adventure that didn't make it into The Force Awakens, with Daisy Ridley voicing her big screen character.
Firebase
Neill Blomkamp's experimental Oats Studios has released another NSFW short. A group of soldiers come across Vietcong fighters with terrible wounds, and helicopters and tanks start gravitating into the sky. Firebase is like Apocalypse Now meets Predator, with a seemingly alien being wreaking havoc while the Vietnam War rages around it.
Rakka
Neill Blomkamp has dropped the first film in his experimental sci-fi series Oats Studios. Starring Sigourney Weaver, the short takes place in a dystopian Texas in the not too distance future where lizard-like aliens have taken over Earth and our minds. If you like what you see, you can donate to the project and possibly help get these shorts made into feature films.
Lunar
In 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first man-made object to reach orbit around the Earth. The event ignited the "Space Race" between the US and the Soviets, which ran parallel to the Cold War. In 1959, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter space, and it looked as if the race had been lost. But in 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of putting a man on the Moon — and the rest is history. Created from thousands of stills taken by astronauts, Lunar animates the longest journey ever undertaken in the history of mankind.
Agent 327: Operation Barbershop
Based on the Dutch comic strip Agent 327, this Blender Animation Studios short features the spy looking for a secret entrance in a barbershop leading to an evil genius and her terrifying experiments on humans. Made completely in the freeware Blender 3D modeling and animation suite, Blender Animation Studios wants to make this short into a feature-length movie. Learn more about the project and how you can help here.
Helsreach
In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. In the Warhammer 40k universe, based on the epic tabletop game, billions of lives are fed into the thresher of conflict across the galaxy. Among the most vaunted and fanatical of combatants, the Space Marines fight for the immortal Emperor of Mankind, defending humanity from alien races and inter-dimensional beings bent on destruction. Richard Boylan captures the dark Gothic space opera perfectly in this black and white animation of the Warhammer 40k audiobook Helsreach.
