Watch: Don Hertzfeldt's Mesmerizing 'Paper Trail' Short Follows a Life by Alex Billington November 11, 2026Source: Vimeo "A life, se
Watch: Don Hertzfeldt’s Mesmerizing ‘Paper Trail’ Short Follows a Life
by Alex Billington
November 11, 2026
Source: Vimeo
“A life, seen through paper.” That’s the only intro to this mesmerizing modern compact film created by animation master Don Hertzfeldt. Paper Trail is the latest work from Hertzfeldt and it’s now playing online after touring fests all year. This first premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Creative Vision; then it played at SXSW (Jury Award + Audience Award for Best Animated Short) and Annecy (where it won Best Short), plus tons of other fests. It’s best to experience this without knowing what you’re watching at first. It’ll all make sense as it plays out. Essentially we’re watching the life of one boy/man named Stevie through paper. It starts with scribbles & drawings, eventually moving into cursive & diaries, then settling into adulthood signing documents over & over. It’s pretty mind-expanding to consider one person’s life entirely through what they put down on paper. For die-hard Hertzfeldt fans: “Paper Trail is now available to pre-order on Blu-ray with the 2024 animated film ME, exclusive audio commentaries by Don Hertzfeldt, special music features, special hidden features, and more.” Also the original motion picture soundtrack by Naomi Alligator is now available on vinyl. Watch the film below via Vimeo for a restricted time.
Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for debuting it (for a restricted time). Intro via Pluk de Nacht: “Master-animator Don Hertzfeld returns with a simple concept: ‘A life, seen through paper.’ A child’s doodles transform into a teenage diary, before the endless repetitive nature of adulthood sets in.” Paper Trail is written and directed by American animation filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt, also director of the acclaimed sci-fi compact films World of Tomorrow (in 2015), and World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts (in 2017),and finally World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime (in 2020), as well as the feature-length film It’s Such a Beautiful Day and a few other projects. He’s received Academy Award nominations for two Best Animated Short previously, for World of Tomorrow and also for Rejected (in 2001). Hertzfeldt is based in Austin, TX and you can find him @donhertzfeldt. You can also rent/watch more of his films on his Vimeo or find out more info on his official website. This latest film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will also be released on Blu-ray soon. Your thoughts?
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