Covert
2023 · 5m · Singapore
Directed by Bervyn Chua
Genres: action, animation, thriller
A security guard must protect a priceless jewel from a masked burglar's grasp, leading to a frenetic cat-and-mouse chase through a museum before the police arrive.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A student heist animation that plays it entirely straight—slick camera work, efficient editing, zero formal risk. It's competent enough to be invisible, which is precisely the problem when you're supposed to surprise people.
Chua demonstrates clear command of cinematic language within animation, and the camera choreography shows awareness of how to stage action spatially; it's a technically assured student film, though the premise itself doesn't venture into territory that will sustain much conversation.
The decision to shoot this entirely in 3D with dynamic, sweeping camera moves—treating animation like live-action heist cinema rather than a typical student animation—is the single choice that makes this feel like it punches above its budget and year of origin.
Festivals
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2023
- Screwdriver Film Festival 2023, Awarded
- National Youth Film Awards 2023
- Digicon6 Asia 2023