The opposites Game
THE OPPOSITES GAME

What is the opposite of a gun? A classroom erupts into a war of words as students grapple with this seemingly simple question in Lisa LaBracio and Anna Samo’s adaptation of Brendan Constantine’s “The Opposites Game”. Entirely hand-crafted by the two directors, the animation is drawn in a stop-motion-animated book and traces an escalating conflict, at turns hilarious and deadly serious, coursing an answer being both sought and avoided.

“The Opposites Game” is part of the TED-Ed series “There’s a Poem for That”, which aims to showcase living poets giving language to some of life’s most inexplicable moments.

Animated Short | 5 min | DCP | Dolby Digital 5.1 | Color | English | ©2019 TED-Ed

CREDITS
DOWNLOAD THE PRESS-KIT HERE

poet Brendan Constantine

directed by Anna Samo and Lisa LaBracio 

narrator Brendan Constantine
animation and design Lisa LaBracio, Anna Samo

sound design Weston Fonger
produced by Gerta Xhelo

editorial producer Alex Rosenthal
executive creative director Logan Smalley
executive producer Stephanie Lo
associate producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
producer Sarah Kay

a TED-Ed Production

AWARDS
BEST ANIMATED SHORT (Oscar qualifying)
Raindance, Film Festival London, UK

BEST GALLERY FILM
Anima Mundi Rio de Janeiro + São Paolo, Brazil

BEST IN SHOW AWARD
ASIFA East Animation Film Festival New York City, USA

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Downtown LA Film Festival Los Angeles, USA

BEST SCREENPLAY
Animage International Animation Festival of Pernambuco, Brazil

SPECIAL JURY MENTION
StopTrik Animation Festival Slovenia + Poland

HONORABLE MENTION
Woodstock Film Festival Woodstock, NY, USA

The Opposites Game

F E S T I V A L S

Animafest Zagreb World Festival of Animation Film
Grand Competition, Short Film - June 2019, Croatia

Palm Springs International Shortfest
Official Selection – June 2019, Palm Springs, USA

Anima Mundi
Gallery Film Competition – July 2019, Brazil

SUPERTOON International Animation Festival
International Competition - July 2019, Croatia

Salute Your Shorts Film Festival
Official Selection - August 2019, Los Angeles, USA

Warsaw Animation Film Festival
Panorama - August/September 2019, Poland

Fantoche International Animation Festival
Panorama - September 2019, Switzerland

Animanima International Animation Festival
International Competition - September 2019, Serbia

VarnaFest World Animated Film Festival
Panorama - September 2019, Bulgaria

Raindance Film Festival
Official Selection - September 2019, London, UK

Festival Stop Motion Montreal
September 2019, Canada

Animation Block Party
September 2019, Brooklyn, USA

Encounters Film Festival
Official Selection - September 2019, Bristol, UK

Woodstock Film Festival
Official Selection - October 2019, Woodstock, USA

StopTrik International Film Festival
Official Selection - October 2019, Slovenia + Poland

ANIMAGE – International Animation Festival of Pernambuco
Official Selection - October 2019, Recife, Brazil

Downtown LA Film Festival
Official Selection - October 2019, Los Angeles, USA

ReAnimania: Int’l Animation Films & Comics Art Festival
Official Selection - October 2019, Armenia

Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival
Official Selection - November 2019, Pittsburgh, USA

Interfilm Berlin International Short Film Festival
Official Selection - November 2019, Germany

Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival
Official Selection - November 2019, Colorado Springs, USA

Flensburg Short Film Festival
November 2019, Germany + Denmark

London Animation Festival
Official Selection - November/December 2019, London, UK

Leuven Short Film Festival
Official Selection - November/December 2019, Belgium