Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » FANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘Circo Animato’ Highlights Amazing Animated Work

FANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘Circo Animato’ Highlights Amazing Animated Work

Ricardo GallegosBy Ricardo Gallegos08/01/20224 Mins ReadUpdated:12/10/2022
Circo Animato - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Circo Animato - But Why Tho

Circo Animato has become one of Fantasia Fest’s most exciting traditions. This short film program spans a variety of animated works from many countries, thus offering us a taste of global culture through the quality of a wide array of talented artists. The 2022 edition of Circo Animato boasts films from Canada, Iran, France, China, the United States, Chile, and Saudi Arabia. Some of them have a bonus Latin America flavor.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

The clear highlights of Circo Animato 2022 have Latin American flavor. First, we have El After del Mundo, a 2D short film by Argentinian director Florentina Gonzalez. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Its story follows Fluor, a delivery girl who enters an abandoned Marine Park where she meets Carlix, a melancholic woman who used to work with whales and is now trying to assemble a dead one. With the aid of Juana Molina’s outstanding music, breathtaking visuals, an intelligent screenplay, and a chill music-loving main character that seems to be stuck in a cycle of never-ending productivity, El After del Mundo explores the end-of-the-world anxieties through a Millennial lens and a sprinkle of hipster vibes.

Also outstanding is New Moon, a short directed by Jeremie Balais and Jeff LeBars that animates an extract from Colman Domingo’s autobiographical play A Boy and His Soul. Here, the ZOLA and Fear the Walking Dead actor narrates (and stars through rotoscope animation) the story of a young Black boy recollecting childhood memories of his mother. Hopes, poverty, dreams, and Aretha Franklin are connected through gorgeous animation that smartly presents metaphorical representations of the boy’s memories while preserving a theatrical vibe. A mesmerizing artistic film that serves as a thank you letter to Black mothers.

Chilean director Camila Donoso Astudillo gives us another remarkable film in the Circo Animato 2022 program: Deshabitada. Inspired by her own grandmother, this work uses stop motion to tell the story of an old dying woman pondering on the ghosts of the past. Similar to countrymen Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León (La Casa Lobo and Los Huesos directors), Astudillo uses an experimental stop-motion approach to create a creepy and effective film.

Most of the films on display have a surreal and experimental edge. Although tough to grasp, Grace An’s Baek-il uses beautiful animation to express isolation; from France, Amandine Meyer’s “A Story for 2 Trumpets” is a stunning portrayal of growing up; Shengwei Zhou’s “Perfect City: The Mother” is a bizarre trip that overstays its welcome about a mother trying to shape her baby into a creepy doll; and Ye Song’s “The Principle of Sunrise” is a delicate, animated metaphorical fable about a girl treating an injured bird.

The most straightforward and easy film to watch is also action-packed. Based on Alexei Tolstói’s 1839 vampire tale, Sam Chou’s VRDLK: Family of Vurdulak has bloodthirsty creatures —a mix of werewolves and vampires—stalking a Serbian family in the middle of the woods. They get reluctant help from an arrogant traveler. Although a fun watch, the writing of its main character, a jerk to animals and humans alike, stops this from being great. There’s no reason or explanation for his repulsive personality and it serves nothing in the story.

Michael Ralla’s “Break Bug” is a fun three-minute short about a bug pestering a hip-hop dancing robot; from Iran, Elaheh Ghomeyshi’s “Piece of Solitude” is a quietly painful and moving short about an old amnesiac man who starts searching for a precious item from his childhood; in just one minute, Tarun Padmakumar’s “The Commute” enchants through notable animation and creativity; Omorose Osagie’s “Glass Doll” is a moving but unfinished film that struggles to justify its maliciousness; El Salvador animator Karla Monterrosa uses its two minutes duration to portray, with good authenticity, the chisme of a typical Latin American WhatsApp family group in “Lo 100to;” and Raghad Al Barqi’s “Whisper Down the Lane” applies the Broken Telephone game concept in adults with little effect.

Although many of the films of Circo Animato 2022 struggle to create an impact due to their small duration, they all are impressive in their own ways. As a whole, this collection is a sample of worldwide artistry that allows us to dive into cultures, themes, and stories from unique and exciting perspectives. As an added bonus, it’s badass seeing so many Latin American talent hitting home runs in Circo Animato: El After del Mundo and Deshabitada are great examples of the impressive future that lies ahead for Latin American animation.

Circo Animato 2022 was showcased at Fantasia Fest 2022.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleFANTASIA FEST 2022: Paternal Horror in ‘Seire’
Next Article REVIEW: ‘RWBY: Ice Queendom,’ Episode 5 – “Awaken in a Dream”
Ricardo Gallegos

Ricardo is a Mexico City-based bilingual writer, Certified Rotten Tomatoes film critic and Digital Animation graduate. He loves cats, Mass Effect, Paddington and is the founder of the film website “La Estatuilla.

Related Posts

Choi Gyu-ri, Shin Eun-Soo in Love Untangled
7.5

REVIEW: ‘Love Untangled’ Is Just Adorable

08/31/2025
Austin Butler in Caught Stealing
8.5

REVIEW: ‘Caught Stealing’ Marks An Exciting Pivot for Darren Aronofsky

08/27/2025
Margaret Qualley stars as Honey O' Donahue in the film Honey Don't
8.5

REVIEW: ‘Honey Don’t!’ Is A Genius Work Of Subversion And Fantasy Fulfillment

08/25/2025
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Roses But Why Tho
5.0

 REVIEW: ‘The Roses’ Lacks A Thorny Edge

08/25/2025
Mert Ramazan Demir in Abandoned Man
6.5

REVIEW: ‘Abandoned Man’ Lacks Depth In Its Take On Betrayal

08/22/2025
Ne Zha 2 promotional still from a24
10.0

REVIEW: ‘Ne Zha 2’ Is One Of The Most Epic Feats Of Animation

08/21/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

Cronos: The New Dawn Nest
8.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Cronos: The New Dawn’ Does Post-Apocalyptic Psychological Horror Right

By Mick Abrahamson09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

While not particularly sacry, Cronos: The New Dawn is a lot of fun as a survival horror that puts you in the futuristic armor of the Traveler.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here