Bippy the Little Robot, the newest animated short film from Glenna Burmer, was recognized for Best Animation recently in three film festivals in Chicago, Portland, Ore., and Brussels.
Organizers at the Chicago Filmaker Awards selected Bippy for a Best Animation award in July. The film festival was inspired by Chicago’s rich history of filmmaking in the early 20th century before the city was replaced by Hollywood. In the late 1980s, its movie production industry was reignited after the release of several blockbuster films set in the Windy City. Following in this tradition, the Chicago Filmmaker Awards acknowledges and rewards independent filmmakers not recognized by mainstream Hollywood.
Besides the Chicago Filmmaker Awards, Bippy also won Best Animation awards from Portland Moviemakers Awards and the Brussels World Film festivals.
The story of Bippy the Little Robot takes place in the future after humans are annihilated, but the bleak and barren landscape does not deter Bippy, a perky little trashcan, who sets out on a journey to find if other machines still exist.
In an abandoned music studio, the little robot discovers a broken-down piano where he improvises a jazz piece that awakens a pink toaster named Anna. The music inspires a swirling dance sequence using innovative motion capture and the future, once dismal, grows a little brighter.
This inspirational message of hope is resonating with audiences worldwide. Bippy has been honored with more than 25 awards from international films festivals including Paris, Milan, Florence, Zurich, Turkey and Berlin as well as the U.S.
Bippy is the second animated film produced by Glenna Burmer in collaboration with Deep Sky & Imaginary Planet. The team’s first joint project was Nana korobi, Ya oki, completed in spring 2021.