Snow Bear
| Snow Bear | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Aaron Blaise |
| Produced by | Nicholas Burch |
| Music by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 11 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Snow Bear is a 2025 American animated short film written and directed by Aaron Blaise. The 11-minute animated film following the life of a lonely polar bear was selected in various international film festivals, including the Annecy Film Festival,[1] the Tribeca Film Festival[2][3] and Animafest Zagreb.[4] The film was entirely animated by Aaron Blaise himself over the span of three years.[5]
Snow Bear is currently available to watch on Blaise's YouTube channel.
Plot
[edit]The film follows a lonely male polar bear in the Arctic, living on the unforgivable ice floe. Unable to make friends (after failing to befriend an arctic fox, some orcas, and Canada geese), he decides to create his own out of snow, and spends time with it - watching the aurora borealis with it, playing hide-and-seek with it, eating seals with it, sliding with it, and imitating the nearby walruses with it.
One morning, the snow-made bear starts melting. He tries to save it, but sadly can't do anything. Eventually, after mourning the loss of his "friend", the bear discovers an Arctic island with a lot of green grass. While exploring, he discovers another snow-made bear, and is surprised to discover that it was made by a female polar bear. The two become mates and make another snow bear to be the female's snow bear's friend.
During the credits, the two polar bears play games with each other and have two cubs together, who learn how to build snow sculptures of all the Arctic animals.
Accolades
[edit]Since its release, the film has been selected in various festivals around the world:
| Year | Festivals | Award/Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Annecy International Animation Film Festival | Young Audience Award[6] | Nominated |
| Cleveland International Film Festival | Best Family Short Audience Choice Award[7] | Won | |
| Animafest Zagreb | Best Film for Children and Youth[8] | Won | |
| El Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (FICG) | Rigo Mora Prize[9] | Nominated | |
| Hollyshorts Film Festival | Best Animated Short[10] | Nominated | |
| Tribeca Film Festival[11] | Best Animated Short[12] | Nominated | |
| San Francisco Film Festival | Family Short Award[13] | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ "Film d'animation catégorie Jeune public : Snow Bear |". www.annecyfestival.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-24.
- ^ Coates, Jazz Tangcay,Matt Minton,Abigail Lee,Lauren (2025-04-24). "Tribeca Festival Launches Immersive Technology Exhibit 'In Search of Us' – Film News in Brief". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Milligan, Mercedes (2025-04-22). "Tribeca Fest Unveils Animated Shorts Lineup Curated by Whoopi Goldberg". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
- ^ "animafest.hr". animafest.hr. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
- ^ Billington, Alex (2025-03-26). "Aaron Blaise's Homemade Animated Short 'Snow Bear' Official Trailer | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin (2025-03-17). "Exclusive: Annecy Intl. Animation Festival Reveals Eclectic Lineup for Its 2025 Official Shorts Competition". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ "CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE CIFF49 AWARD WINNERS". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ Staff, F. N. E. "Winners of Animafest Zagreb 2025 - FilmNewEurope.com". www.filmneweurope.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ "Oso de nieve". vp.eventival.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-24.
- ^ "21st Annual HollyShorts Film Festival". hollyshorts2025.eventive.org. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jill (2025-04-22). "Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils Expanded Shorts Program With Dedicated Screening Room". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
- ^ Sabroski, Ryan (2025-06-08). "'Snow Bear' (Tribeca) Non-Spoiler Review – A Simple But Stunning Animated Tale". The Cinema Spot. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
- ^ "AwardsWatch - 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) Lineup: Josh O'Connor in 'Rebuilding,' Tributes to André Holland, Chris Columbus". AwardsWatch. 2025-03-26. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
External links
[edit] | This article needs additional or more specific categories. (September 2025) |