I will admit that it's not often in the world of short films where I think to myself "This demands to be seen on the big screen," but such is the case with Bara Anna Stejskalova's rather remarable 15-minute animated short 9 Million Colors. The film Oscar-qualified this weekend with its animation grand prize win at Indy Shorts International Film Festival in Indianapolis, and I'd be pretty stunned to see it not mentioned when awards season comes around. 

I'll openly confess that I'm no genius when it comes to animation, however, I found myself completely enthralled by one of the leading figures in the Czech animation scene. 

And yes, there's a Czech animation scene. 

9 Million Colors introduces us to Fran, a predatory mantis shrimp, and Milva, a unique little blind fish. Utilizing stop-motion animation and  puppetry, 9 Million Colors is a lovely short film featuring inspired music from Tomas Dvorak and a story that explores themes of friendship, differences, and the vulnerable possibilities of learning how to live with one another. 

Despite a predatory nature, Fran becomes captivated by Milva and this starts a journey that is fraught with immense possiblities both brilliant and challenging. While there are times I long for the old-school days of hand-drawn animation, 9 Million Colors captures a myriad of possibilities in animation and it's unlike anything else I watched at Indy Shorts this year. It's easy to understand why the jury awarded it the top prize even in a genuinely good year of animation for the festival.