You don’t need me to point out the extreme imbalance when it comes to the number of women in the film industry. Kathryn Bigelow earning the Oscar in 2010 for Hurt Locker might be a signal that times are changing, but for many they’re not moving fast enough particularly when compared to other arts like literature, theater, and music.

One area of filmmaking that’s been less partial toward women is animation. As a lover of animation, it’s not surprising that this list contains some of my all-time favorite shorts—from Sharon Colman’s character comedy Badgered to Lizzi Akana’s bizarre world in Marvelous Keen Loony Bin, early favorites like Gaëlle Denis’ City Paradise and more recent films like Kirsten Lepore’s Bottle.

Ultimately, a film is judged on its own merits in story, technique, and impact—a point even more true in the democratizing world of online film. These films need no special treatment.

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Drama Julia Pott

Howard

The mysteries of the heart are front in center in London-animator Julia Pott's examination of love, faded.

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Dramedy Kirsten Lepore

Bottle

Separated by the sea, a unique duo pass along details of their lives through a bottle. An elegiac animation of minimalist perfection.

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Drama Kseniya Simonova

Kseniya Simonova

A beautiful performance in sand animation depicting the German invasion of Ukraine in WWII.

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Experimental Hayley Morris

Undone

A hand-crafted stop-motion that serves as a poignant metaphor for the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease.

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Drama Caroline Leaf

Two Sisters

The isolated world of two sisters is shattered when a visitor arrives to their island threatening to break their discordant harmony.

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Drama Suzie Templeton

Dog

**CURRENTLY OFFLINE** - BAFTA-winning claymation explores the suffocating atmosphere in a young boy's household, as he and his father must confront their dog's deteriorating condition.

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Comedy Sharon Colman

Badgered

A tired badger battles with a pair of noisy crows for peaceful rest, but inadvertently falls into a much bigger mess when an underground missile station is placed underneath the badger's dwelling.

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Adventure Gaëlle Denis

City Paradise

A Japanese woman finds herself in the cold heart of a gloomy and uninviting London. But there's more that lies beyond the surface…

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Experimental Lizzi Akana

Marvelous Keen Loony Bin

Quirky, animated film from RISD student, Lizzi Akana, takes us into a bizarre world where despondent characters lack crucial features and monkeys strut with balloon heads.

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Experimental Asa Arnehed

Tuesday

A Tuesday morning arrives just like any other Tuesday in this slow and mesmerizing hand-drawn film.