Within the world of animation, most experimentation occurs within short-format productions, whether they are high-budgeted commercials, low-budgeted independent shorts or something in-between. The growing number of short film festivals around the world attests to the vitality of these works, but there are few other venues for their exhibition, nor are they often reviewed. As a result, distribution tends to be difficult and irregular. On a regular basis, Animation World Magazine will highlight some of the most interesting of these films.

This month:

Berni's Doll (2008), 11:20, directed by Yann J (France). Contact: Yann Jouette [T] 00.33.1.53.26.70/19 [E] Yann.jouette@gmail.com [W] yann.jouette.free.fr; Dummy Productions [T] 00.33.1.40.22 63.43 [E] contact@dummy.fr [W] www.dummy.fr; Autour de Minuit [T] 00.33.1.42..81.17.28 [E] christine@autourdeminuit.com [W] www.autourdeminuit.com; Distribution USA/Canada: Dane Alan Smith [E] mrdanesmith@gmail.com [W] dane@menithings.com

Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor (2007), 21:00, directed by Koji Yamamura (Japan). Contact: Shochiku [T] (+81) 3.5550.1623 [F] (+81) 3.5550.1654 [W] www.shochikufilms.com; www.shochiku.co.jp [E] ibd@shochiku.co.jp

Ron the Zookeeper (2007), 6:45, directed by Darcy Prendergast (Australia). Contact: Darcy Prendergast, Dee Pee Studios [T] +61 (0) 401.732.945 [E] Darcy.Prendergast@gmail.com

Sebastian's Voodoo (2008), 4:07, directed by Joaquin Baldwin (Paraguay). Contact: Joaquin Baldwin [T] 818.380.0085 [E] Joaquin@pixelnitrate.com [W] www.pixelnitrate.com

Presto (2008), 5:14, directed by Doug Sweetland (U.S.). Contact: Pixar Animation Studios [W] www.pixar.com

Headless women are nothing but trouble, as shown in Berni's Doll. © Yann Jouette.

Berni's Doll
You can't put a price on true love. That may be true in the here and now, but in our not-too-distant dystopian future, the cost is negotiable.

Berni's got a dead-end factory job, attaching lids to cans of rat-infused cat food. His world is gray, bleak and miserable, but, as is the case in our modern world, television offers the solution to all life's problems. Seeking companionship, Berni responds to a commercial offering true happiness in the form of a headless, limbless, living female torso, available in a complete array of races and body types.

Soon, Berni is delighted to receive his very own "Woman Body," and his productivity at work (and, sure enough, in the bedroom) increases exponentially. He gradually becomes dissatisfied with his African-model Woman Body, which is unable to do much beyond hopping around his small apartment and ingesting meals through its neck hole, so he saves up and purchases accessories piece by piece, creating his own sexual Frankenstein's monster, complete with Mexican arms and Eastern European legs.

As the body parts pile up, so do Berni's expectations. The limb-ful Woman's Body's duties grow to include Berni's cooking and cleaning, in addition to fulfilling all of his sexual needs. He feels a growing sense of freedom as he further enslaves his Woman's Body, but this feeling fades more rapidly with each successive purchase. Dissatisfied again, Berni decides that a head, an Asian head, will finally complete the package, and only then will he know true happiness.

As anyone who's read any of R. Crumb's Mr. Natural stories can tell you, Berni would've been much better off if he'd just turned off the television and read a book instead. Headless women are nothing but trouble.

This multiple-award-winning film (including Special Distinction at the recent Annecy International Animated Film Festival) was created by a very small crew, consisting of director Yann J, who handled the writing, directing, modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering and compositing; animators Andres Gomez, Kaï Lydecken, Geoffroy de Crécy, and Maud Henry; and Seal Phüric and Trionix on sound design. Utilizing Adobe Aftereffects and 3-D Max, the small, tight-knit team brought together in a stunning fashion J's disturbing vision of a world in which every person and culture is commoditized -- a sad and frightening picture of a world that could be coming.