The ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS returns for its second year in theaters (and at the Rio!) with 12 charming family-friendly films. Highlights include 'About a Mother,' a new folktale with echoes of Shel Silverstein’s 'The Giving Tree,' Disney/Pixar’s sweet 'Piper,' and the latest in 360º storytelling in Google’s touching father-and daughter-journey 'Pearl' by Academy Award® winner Patrick Osborne. The show also features a second-part “bonus” of four provocative shorts exclusively for more mature (PG) audiences.

This year’s show includes an expanded selection of fresh student films from leading animation schools in the U.S., Belgium, Canada, Korea and Russia. This is not surprising, since the most interesting and groundbreaking work is being done at these hotbeds of creativity.

Featuring techniques ranging from hand-drawn to stop-motion to the latest computer-generated imagery, the 16 extraordinary films in this program were created by animators from Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, Korea, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Scotland, the U.K., and the U.S. Their themes range from gay issues and civil rights, to deeply felt personal stories, to the wacky humor that animation does so well. Many have garnered awards from prestigious festivals around the world.

Sunday, December 4
Doors 3:00 pm | Show starts 3:30 pm
(15 minute intermission at 4:40 pm)

Kids under 13 $10 advance | $12 door
Adult tickets $13 advance | $15 door

*Minors welcome in the balcony! Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
**Groupons and passes OK! Please redeem at the door.

For the first time this year, in addition to regular shows, there will also be a number of screenings specifically designed to be family-friendly and appropriate for viewers of six years and up. Those who attend the full screenings will have the opportunity to see four films – 'Corpus', 'Blue,' 'Manoman' and 'All Their Shades' – that approach their mature subjects in more graphic detail.

Largely crowd-funded through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, this year’s Animation Show of Shows represents the enthusiasm and commitment of 550 individual contributors from around the world. We are extremely grateful for their support and it is thanks to them that we are able to share these treasures with the world.

For 16 years, The Animation Show of Shows, founded and curated by Ron Diamond, has been presenting new and innovative short films to animation studios, societies, schools and festivals around the world. Over the years, 32 of the films showcased in the Show of Shows went on to receive Academy Award® nominations, with nine films winning the Oscar®.
This year’s lineup is presented in two part: Family Friendly (the first 12) and Mature Audiences (BONUS 4). The “Family Friendly” version features 12 films and will end after the short film 'Exploozy.' The BONUS 4 version, features all 16 films listed below.

*The entire lineup will screen at the Rio Theatre in its entirety with a short intermission between the two parts, allowing opportunity for those who wish to opt out.
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• Stems – Ainslie Hendersen (Scotland)
• Shift – Cecilia Puglesi & Yijun Liu (U.S.)
• Pearl – Patrick Osborne (U.S.)
• Crin-crin – Iris Alexandre (Belgium)
• Mirror – Chris Ware, John Kuramoto, Ira Glass (U.S.)
• Last summer in the garden – bekky O’Neil (Canada)
• Waiting for the New Year – Vladimir Leschiov (Latvia)
• Piper – Alan Barillaro (U.S.)
• Bøygen – Kristian Pedersen (Norway)
• Afternoon Class – Seoro Oh (Korea)
• About a Mother – Dina Velikovskaya (Russia)
• Exploozy – Joshua Gunn, Trevor Piecham, & John McGowan (U.S.)
• Corpus – Marc Héricher (France)
• Blue – Daniela Sherer (Israel)
• Manoman – Simon Cartwright (England)
• All Their Shades – Chloé Alliez (Belgium)