🎬 Golden Horse 2025｜Short Films & Animation That Stir the Soul in Just Minutes

In cinema, not every story requires a long runtime to resonate. At the 62nd Golden Horse Awards, the nominated short films and animated shorts deliver impactful narratives packed with intensity and depth — all within a limited number of minutes. From rural twilight to urban shadows, from realism to fantasy, these works prove that even fleeting frames can move hearts.

📺 Tune in to the special Golden Horse Awards program on KTSF Channel 26, Saturday night, November 22, to witness these unforgettable moments in Chinese-language cinema.

2025 Golden Horse Award Nominated Shorts & Animated Shorts

🎞 This Is Not My Cow

At dusk, a water buffalo wanders into a village, becoming a quiet metaphor for land, tradition, and identity. With restrained dialogue and deliberate framing, the director magnifies a seemingly simple farming encounter into a meditation on belonging. A brief eye contact between man and beast speaks volumes — who are you, and where do you belong? This minimalist piece is a prime example of how “less is more” in short-form storytelling.

🎞 Green Lake

A forgotten lake. A group of nocturnal photographers. A fading legend. This short follows the pursuit of a vanishing landscape, using camera and light to reflect the cracks of time in mirrored water. The eerie sound design and drifting visuals immerse the viewer in a lakeside night, waiting for a submerged truth to surface. It’s not just a look at geography, but a gentle search for memory before it's lost.

🎞 Knee Reflex

Beginning with a simple reflex test, the film uses involuntary knee jerks to unlock buried memories. Each twitch evokes a personal history, and the body’s subtle movements mirror inner upheaval. Through rapid cuts and close-ups, the director builds anxiety and emotional weight — dragging viewers into the protagonist’s inner tremors. A small film with big emotional punch, exploring the hidden ties between body and memory.

🎞 Human Tower

Children take turns climbing, collapsing, and rebuilding a human tower — a game that becomes a metaphor for life itself. Driven by an accelerating rhythm and score, the short turns play into a symbol of trust, failure, and resilience. Laughter and fear coexist at the tower’s peak. In a simple setting, the director builds immense tension, capturing the uncertainty of growth and the strength of community.

🎞 Two Women Directors

A self-reflective piece about two female filmmakers confronting failure, doubt, and identity. Through shared experiences, exchanged scripts, and overlapping lenses, they confront who gets to tell stories — and how. Presented in a semi-documentary style, the film questions: who’s watching? who’s being seen? who sets the rules? These open-ended questions make this short a powerful, feminist statement on authorship and visibility.

🎞 Goodbye, Waves (Animated Short Recommendation)

Waves crash, the beach stays silent. With minimalist lines and movement, this animation paints a quiet farewell between human and sea. The character stands with their back to the ocean, as each wave seems to whisper of fading time and memories. In just a few minutes, the animation transforms into a long, tender goodbye — not just to the sea, but to a former self.

📺 Want to experience all these powerful, emotional, and innovative shorts in one night?Tune in to KTSF Channel 26 on Saturday, November 22, 2025, for our special Golden Horse Awards coverage. We’ll take you behind the scenes with the nominated short films — from red carpet moments to director interviews and creative insights — as we witness the boundless potential of Chinese-language cinema.