Watch: ‘Tears of the Mountain’ & ‘Niccolo’ – 2 Shorts Made at Gobelins

Watch: ‘Tears of the Mountain’ & ‘Niccolo’ – 2 Shorts Made at Gobelins

by Alex Billington
October 17, 2025
Source: YouTube

“Great mountain spirit, please accept our offering and guide mother’s soul to the open sky.” Two excellent modern animated miniature films to watch created by students at the prestigious Gobelins animation school based in Paris. Both are viewable below via YouTube. The first is a 7-minute miniature titled Tears of the Mountain, about two girls going out on a hunt into the snowy wilderness where they encounter an age-old beast that’s connected to the spirits of the mountain. The second is a 5-minute miniature titled Niccolo, following a talented violinist who’s trapped between hollow applause and true artistic freedom. These were created by students as graduation projects and released online by Gobelins directly. We’ve featured many animated shorts in the past from this school – they’re one of the best in the world. Guillermo del Toro & Netflix also just announced a modern partnership with them, creating a “groundbreaking stop-motion studio that will shape the storytellers of tomorrow & propel the art form into the future.” Based on their Paris campus. Enjoy the two modern shorts.

Thanks to Twitter & YouTube for the tip on these miniature films debuting online. Both shorts are free to watch.

Intro to Tears of the Mountain: “Jaya sets out to hunt the spirit of the mountain, a sacred beast with valuable feathers. As she approaches the heart of the mountain, she’s interrupted by her younger sister, Amala, devout on protecting the spirit.” This animated miniature is created & directed by animation filmmakers Luke Ashworth, Yehor Bondarenko, Alp Kurdoglu, Romane Talva, Ange Yajima. With music by Knute Nelson & Manit Kittiwangchai; and sound by Mathieu Tiger. And with the voices of Kalee Dehamer-Yanagida & Violeette Avouac. For more info + behind-the-scenes videos, visit the film’s official IG account.

Intro to Niccolo: “A gifted musician’s pursuit of fame traps him in the audience’s demands—until a broken violin forces him to choose between hollow applause and true artistic freedom.” A very meta concept… This animated miniature is created & directed by animation filmmakers Clémentine Di Prizio, David Florian, Axelle Granet, Sirui Liu, Hugo Michalet, Njolai Pachomius. With music by Mathieu Vilbert; and with sound by Laurent Jimenez. For more info + behind-the-scenes looks, visit the film’s official IG account.

For info on Gobelins, head to the school’s official website. For more shorts (including animation), click here.

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