Self
2024 · 6m · USA
Directed by Searit Huluf
Genres: animation, family, fantasy
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, provocative, tender
A wooden doll with Ethiopian markings yearns to belong among a world of golden mannequin-like peers who cannot communicate with her. She makes an ill-fated wish upon a star and receives golden limbs that allow her to fit in—but at the cost of her own identity—before ultimately choosing to reclaim her original self.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Pixar's first stop-motion, hybrid grammar where the wooden Ethiopian-marked doll is tactile and her assimilation-pressure peers are sleek CGI — that's a smart structural choice but Pixar's emotional algorithms are heavy machinery. Six minutes, probably effective, probably calculated.
Pixar's first stop-motion ever, with Tippett Studio handling the tactile-wooden protagonist while CGI surrounds her — the assimilation metaphor is built into the medium itself, which is precisely how to do it. Six minutes; a major studio finally trusting tactile form.
Pixar's first stop-motion film, shot in collaboration with Tippett Studio for the tactile-wooden protagonist while the rest of the world is sleek CGI — the visual-grammar split IS the assimilation-pressure thesis. Searit Huluf directing this kind of hybrid pipeline at Pixar is craft-history significant.
Reviews
Visually gorgeous, merging Pixar's usual top-shelf computer-generated animation with stop-motion animation... Huluf is destined for even greater things in the future.
Worth a watch for the beautiful mix of traditional stop-motion animation and dazzling CGI... a strong message in a very short running time.
Festivals
- 56th NAACP Image Awards 2025, Outstanding Short Form (Animated) — Nominated
- 25th Annual Black Reel Awards 2024, Outstanding Short Film — Nominated
- Collision Awards 2024, Gold Short Film Award — Won