Category here is – mere mortals making movie magic. The magic that the filmmakers offer in this mixed bag of shorts is occasionally explainable. But a character in early True Blood said something that truly relates to this program. “Just because you know how it works doesn’t mean it’s not magic”.

Ana Mouyis’ Dahlia is just like a lot of the animation shorts we’ve seen throughout the festival. It isn’t necessarily the best in revealing its plot. It’s up to the audience, perhaps. But its elusive nature is easily forgivable as she uses some references to post-expressionist art as a beautiful jumping point.

Vincent Parronaud and Vincent Waltgenwitz’s Death, Father and Son is more straightforward. It uses stop animation to tell the story of an otherworldly being who interferes with his father’s work. Its cute voice work is effective, especially when they contrast with other macabre elements.

Andrea Brusa and Marco Scotuzzi’s Magic Alps is more serious as it shows an immigration officer (Giovanni Storti). Never an easy day at work, he has to deal with an Afghan refugee (Hassan El Aouni) and his goat. Its mood and its slight sepia-tone cinematography aside, its power is on its compassion.

Lianne Graham’s Flight is a documentary short about the first female Canadian pilot. A bit on the simple side, it shows its subject Nora Bottomley leaf through newspaper clippings of her achievements. The fact that they’re in color though shows how far we still need to go to achieve gender equality.

Speaking of equality, Joey Arsenau’s Belongs to the Youth is about a program. One that allows First Nations youth in British Columbia to snowboard. It’s a bit of a puff piece but showing nature contrasting 21st century programs is quite interesting. Watching these young folks snowboard is equally as thrilling.

Anna Oparkowska’s Bernard shows a more realistic side of winter, even while she’s using animation. She tells the story of a lonely polar bear. Oparkowska plays with dimensions beautifully, using an impressionistic approach. With lines and colors, the titular animal’s feelings coming across on screen well.