Playing God is a beautiful stop motion short film directed by Italian animator Matteo Burani who co-wrote the film with Gianmarco Valentino. Ariana Gheller serves as the short’s animator and producer.

Here is the short’s synopsis:

Set in a shadowy sculptor’s lab filled with discarded, half-formed creatures, the film follows a tormented Sculptor as he breathes life into an ambitious new clay figure—only to abandon it, deeming it imperfect. Alone and surrounded by the haunting echoes of its maker’s past failures, the sculpture struggles for recognition, ultimately self-destructing in an act of despair. Yet in its destruction, it finds solidarity with the other forsaken works—a shared solace in marginalization.

The film really showcases the artistry, talent and passion that goes behind any film made in this medium. The story is short and to the point but still leaves a lot of room for after thoughts and interpretation on the ending. It’s a movie that you can rewatch multiple times and catch different things you might not have picked up on the first watch. 

You can really tell there was a lot of thought and care put into every part of the film. The passion in the project is evident when you watch how the characters are brought to life. It truly is mind-boggling when you think of how every detail was made by hand and when you imagine the work that animator Gheller took in bringing this to life. Every character looks like there’s really a soul inside of them and have a humanity to them that makes them feel real. They make their eyes water like they’re people in pain; you feel their pain as they’re being tortured by this strange man, and you feel their fear and anxiety throughout the whole short. It’s a beautiful addition to the stop motion community and I can’t wait to see more from the team behind Playing God!

PLAYING GOD will premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 6th, 9pm at the Shorts Theater at Spring Studios.