The TED2019 film festival: Conference shorts

At TED2019, as we explored concepts, research findings and insights bigger than us (you see what we did there?), these conference shorts cleansed our mental palettes between TED Talks and helped playfully introduce sessions throughout the week.

Enjoy these hand-picked videos from curators CC Hutten and Jonathan Wells that capture the kaleidoscopic and often humorous perspectives on being human — or a mermaid, or robot …

 

The short: “Shit in Space.” One astronaut’s um, trash, is another earthling’s treasure.

The creators: Directed by Mathias & Matias; Agency: Try-Oslo

Shown during: Session 1, Truth

 

The short: Chaka Khan “Like Sugar.” A playfully sweet music video accented with spicy dance moves guaranteed to get you in the mood to groove.

The creator: Directed by Kim Gehrig

 

The short: “How to Be a Mermaid.” A brief PSA on what mythology gets wrong about maidens of the sea.

The creator: Nur Casadevall

Shown during: Session 2, Power

 

The short: “The Dream.” There’s nothing quite like the excitement of saving up for your biggest dreams … even when life throws obstacles in your path.

The creators: Directed by Teerapol Suneta; Agency: Ogilvy Bangkok

Shown during: Session 3, Knowledge

 

The short: “Love Train.” Kids all over the US sing and dance with famous artists, musicians and dancers.

The creators: Playing for Change and Turnaround Arts

Shown during: Session 4, Audacity

 

The short: “Phones are good.” A humorous tour through history that proves life is actually better with smartphones.

The creators: Directed by Ian Pons Jewell; Agency: Wieden Kennedy London

Shown during: Session 5, Mindshift

 

The short: “Benches.” How to get the best seat for the greatest show on Earth.

The creator: Daniel Koren

Shown during: Session 5, Mindshift

 

The short: “Ari Fararooy: A Video.” Zoom out, zoom in, turn around, glide, rotate, repeat — in stop motion.

The creator: Ari Fararooy

Shown during: Session 6, Imagination

 

The short: “Furry Alphabet.” What kind of imaginative monsters would you make from A to Z?

The creator: Bernat Casasnovas

Shown during: Session 6, Imagination

 

The short: “One Breath Around the World.” A otherworldly short film that captures the journey of one man as he explores the great peaks, valleys, cliffs and life of the deep ocean — all in one amazing breath.

The creator: Guillaume Néry

Shown during: Session 7, Possibility

 

The short: “Hydrophytes.” A mesmerizing choreography of futuristic plants in movement.

The creator: Nicole Hone

Shown during: Session 8, Mystery

The short: “Smart House.” Voice-activated everything seems appealing until that pesky dentist visit.

The creator: Directed by Andreas Riiser; Agency: Try-Oslo

Shown during: Session 8, Mystery

 

The short: “Tony Stands on an Egg.” It seems standing on an egg isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all.

The creator: Kathleen Docherty

Shown during: Session 8, Mystery

 

The short: “The Most Complicated Trickshot Ever.” Home is where the heart is … if your heart happens to be a Rube Goldberg machine.

The creator: Cree

Shown during: Session 9, Play

 

The short: “The Lying Robot.” Clever robots come one step closer to world domination.

The creator: UR5 Universal Robot at Ara Institute of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Shown during: Session 9, Play

 

The short: Flight of the Conchords “Father & Son.” Two different perspectives on changes taking place within a small family, discussed in song.

The creators: Footage from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Shown during: Session 10, Connection

 

The short: “Absence.” A brief, absurd pondering about what we do in the shadow of absence.

The creator: Alex Goddard

Shown during: Session 10, Connection

 

The short: “An excerpt from TEDxKakumaCamp.” A behind-the-scenes look at making of a prolific TEDx event.

The creator: TEDx

Shown during: Session 10, Connection

 

The short: “Influencers.” A bright, geometrically playful imagining of the world, not as we know it, but as it might be.

The creator: Foam Studio

Shown during: Session 11, Wonder

 

The short: “A Chair at the Beach.” An increasingly existential meditation on what it means to take a seat.

The creator: Bridge Stuart

Shown during: Session 11, Wonder

 

The short: “Eating Machine.” A cute reimagining of what happens in your mouth when you eat an apple.

The creators: Design & Animation: Richie Thompson; Music: Dan Livesey

Shown during: Session 11, Wonder

 

The short: Max Frost “Good Morning.” A catchy ode to early hours of the day and the possibility they bring.

The creators: Directed by Miles & AJ

Shown during: Session 12, Meaning

 

The short: George Ezra “Shotgun.” A summer-y tune that blasts through time, space and place.

The creators: Directed by Nelson De Castro and Carlos Lopez Estrada

Shown during: Session 12, Meaning