From imaginary buddies who are always there for you, to teenage BFFs who guide you through those tough times, friendship has been a staple theme of filmmaking/storytelling since its early beginnings. With July 30th now officially labelled as the International Day of Friendship, lets use this date to take a look back through some of our favourite shorts that celebrate companionship:

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Sci-Fi Ruairi Robinson

Blinky™

Boy wants the latest toy for Christmas, a friendly robot to fill the love left by his parents' broken marriage. But when the boy loses interest in Blinky, one final request remains.

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Comedy Josh Crockett & Daniel Sinclair
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Dinner with Holly

A young couple has a big plan to spice up their love life when their friend, Holly, comes over for dinner.

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Thriller Jérémy Clapin

Palmipédarium

A boy makes an unusual new friend on a hunting trip with his father. Animator Jeremy Clapin's followup to his 2009 SotW Best Short of the Year.

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Dark Comedy Matt Smukler
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The Hiccup

As two friends frantically try to leave town, a chance meeting with an old family friend puts an unwanted delay on their escape plans.

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Drama Mees Peijnenburg
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Even Cowboys Get to Cry

On a night out with best-friend Gijs, Sven starts a fight with a random group of boys that sees the pair's lives changed forever - An uncompromising coming-of-age short created at The Netherlands Film Academy

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Fantasy Kate Tsang

So You've Grown Attached

An imaginary friend is forced to consider retirement when his creator and best friend starts to grow up.

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Drama Hilary Bell
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Gogurt

With the help of her more experienced best friend, a teenage girl tries to make sense of how boring losing her virginity was.

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Dark Comedy Sam Molleur & Elisha Yaffe

The Promise

A five year old promise between friends leads them to explore the darker sides of their personality

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Dark Comedy James P. Gannon
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Smoke Bomb Boys

The f***ing story of the Smoke Bomb Boys. F***ing shit up… hard.

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Comedy Jason Farrand

Sensitive Guys

Two roommates (and best friends) discover that moving is hard, moving on is harder.

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Drama Jesse Coane

We Were Awesome

Childhood friends, Adam and James, are both back in town for Thanksgiving. After a long night drinking with their hometown crew, the estranged friends decide to hike up the hill where they used to hang out in time past.