Down in the Dumps (2025)
Directed by Vera van Wolferen
When Cinelli, a perfectionist ladybug, her shell is stolen by her envious neighbor Peri, she spirals into depression. As Peri discovers the burden of living Cinelli’s seemingly flawless life, she learns that her true worth goes far beyond her shell.
Animated Short film | 00:18:00 | Short Film | Themes: Coming of Age, Mental Health, Children | Colour | 1.85:1 | the Netherlands | Spoken language: Dutch | Subtitles: English| Format: DCP, ProRes | Dolby 7.1 & Stereo LtRt | Animation techniques: Stop-motion & digital cut-out
Vera van Wolferen is an animation director and set designer from the Netherlands. She creates intricate and meticulously constructed scenes out of paper, bringing to life miniature magical worlds. Vera has made papercraft set designs, stop motion animation and window displays for brands like Heineken, Facebook, Bosch and Jo Malone. In 2020 her short film Tourist Trap was released in 30 Dutch cinemas as a supporting short. She was supported by Playgrounds Next, the talent development program of Playgrounds Festival in 2017. Her graduation film How to Catch a Bird was a Vimeo Staff Pick and she was named in one of the new-generation animators by Monocle in 2013.