Watch: Don Hertzfeldt’s Mesmerizing ‘Paper Trail’ Short About a Life | FirstShowing.net

SHORT FILMS by Alex Billington November 11, 2026 Source: Vimeo “A life, seen through paper.” That’s the only intro to this mesmerizing new short 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
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