Since opening its arms (and the gigantic, building-sized Bristol Megascreen) to short films last year, Forbidden Worlds has very quickly become one of the country’s hottest tickets for ballsy genre filmmakers. After all, there aren’t many places in the country to see your zero budget slasher or exquisitely nasty animation projected large and loud on IMAX, to a baying, genre hungry crowd.
Which is most likely why this year’s short film offering from the festival is even more impressive; a 15-film, two-hour extravaganza of everything from explosive beat-em-ups to carefully crafted stop motion folktales. From local talent to award-winning pros, once again it’s a who’s who of next-big-things, so here are our picks of the highlights:
Action is maybe the key word in this year’s showcase, with the 2025 festival boasting a flurry of gorgeously choreographed brawlers. The first of which is even called Brawler, from celebrated filmmaker Bulent Ozdemir-Larusso; a frenetic flurry of perfectly edited fists and feet, that catapults strong and silent leading man Isky Fay into the spotlight as one of this year’s most talented physical performers.
But giving him a run for his money is the effortlessly cool Jo Rolison, stunt performer turned leading lady in Hong Kong inspired fight sequence The Protector. Writer-director Bruce Chong keeps one eye on comedy throughout, and Rolison’s flawlessly athletic damsel-causing-distress is an instantly iconic bit of casting.
Another stuntwoman turned storyteller, Jadey Duffield’s stylish short The Last Dumpling offers a very different take on the Jackie Chan-esque actioner. An almost context-less farce of Sergio Leone eyeshots and carefully choreographed chopstick-fu, it’s as breathless as it is entertaining, and sensible enough not to outstay its welcome.
Also looking for brash laughs is Bristol-born What Happens On Earth; the goofy body horror stroke trippy ’90s rave comedy you never knew you needed. A handmade, Garth Marenghi-esque tribute to retro science fiction from writer-director Tristan Patrick Sherfield, with supremely talented DOP Alex Stevenson shooting all the old school silliness on grainy Kodak film. The result is something wonderfully light, fun and unmistakably British.
The other big draw of this year’s shorts programme is the turnout from talented up and coming animators, not least Luke Frangeskou’s chaotic little plasticine-style 2D stop motion Chef Gustav. A kitchen-set two hander that plays like Ratatouille on acid, with things starting very Tom & Jerry only to wind up much more Itchy & Scratchy come the finale.
Filipino fantasy Sulayman from Blog Caliguia and Tuldok Animation Studios, blasts a very cinematic father/daughter story through the eyes of Genndy Tartakovsky. A 2D swords-and-sorcery actioner that manages to be both larger than life, and very emotionally grounded.
While the same can be said of Bournemouth grad Anna-Ester Volozh’s sumptuous adaptation of fairy tale The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess, a properly awe-inspiring piece of 2D animation that cleverly subverts classic tropes both visually and narratively. Throw in pitch-perfect narration from Dark Souls’ own Pik-Sen Lim, and a positively magical score from Ros Gilman, and it’s no wonder Volozh’s film has already picked up awards all over the world.
And finally, it almost feels like cheating to include Emmy-award winning animator Michael Granberry’s Les Bêtes on this list; a work of such singular genius, it’s any wonder how it found itself on the short film festival circuit. Expertly crafted in avant-garde black and white stop motion (using only recycled puppets from other projects), Granberry’s wordless chaos is a madcap mishmash of wicked ideas, pulled together without much rhyme or reason, just pure unbridled, nightmarish creativity. And Lito Velasco’s wild, totally unchained score is the cherry on top of what is essentially a punkish backroom opera, that’s unmistakably gorgeous in every direction.
The above shorts were all screened as part of Forbidden Worlds Film Festival 2025. For more info on the festival and future events, head to forbiddenworldsfilmfestival.co.uk.
