Joyeux Anniversaire David
2026 · 2m
Directed by Steven Stein
Genres: comedy
Tones: humorous
It is David's birthday, and when his girlfriend does not give him the gift he was hoping for, he decides to go out and buy it for himself.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A two-minute short that flips the birthday-gift premise into petty self-sabotage—David doesn't just accept disappointment, he weaponizes it against the gesture itself. It's got the kind of small-scale absurdist logic that makes you laugh because the emotional calculus is so warped and honest.
Structurally economical, with a clear three-beat setup-disappointment-resolution that lands with precision; the restraint in execution—no overplaying, clean cutting—positions it squarely in the tradition of compact comedic shorts that know exactly what they're doing.
The film turns entirely on David's decision to *buy it himself*, which reframes what could be saccharine (girlfriend fails him) into something darker and funnier—it's the one tonal choice that makes the whole thing work, turning a premise about hurt into one about control.