Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2026). “Cracked” is an animated short by filmmaker Jessica Rizk. It will make its Los Angeles premiere at the 22nd Oscar-Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. The event takes place in August 13th – 23rd at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.
Director, creator and animator Rizk’s 5-minute animated short examines the often alienating and dissociative experience of big city life through grating and perturbing visuals.
The film is accompanied by an original score and sound design by Soren Anderson. “Cracked” portrays a dark journey into a woman’s mind as she goes through the motions of her daily routine. The protagonist’s self-neglect manifests as flickering lights, invasive roaches, and accumulated grime. Which become increasingly difficult to ignore and ultimately push her to her breaking point.
The film has drawn strong early critical response, earning a perfect 10/10 from Film Threat, where critic Bobby LePire wrote: “Cracked runs just under 5 minutes long. That is all the time the director needs to impart a deeply thought-out message that everyone can relate to, no matter how they identify. If this is what Rizk can accomplish in such a brief running time, imagine how impactful a full feature from her could be?”
The Official Trailer for “CRACKED” Directed by “Jessica Rizk”
Unseen Films critic Steve Kopian called it “a dystopian masterpiece.”
Says Rizk, “The visual inspiration for ‘Cracked’ emerged from Picasso’s Blue Period. I wanted to use animation to explore a modern character drawn in a similar melancholic palette to Picasso’s and elaborate on the psyche that may germinate in such a dismal environment.”
It took two years of continuous work to complete just five minutes of 2D animation, requiring 7,000 hand-drawn frames. It was a labor of love that she shared with Anderson, her husband and frequent collaborator.
Rizk is a Lebanese-American director, writer, and multi-disciplinary artist based in New York City. She completed a three-year animation program in 2024 at the Rhode Island School of Design and is currently working on a feature-length script for animation and a short film.
Anderson is a pianist and composer. He studied Economics at Harvard College.
“Cracked” will screen as part of the Animation I Block, Friday, August 14th @ 12:00PM, at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028.
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Jessica is a director, writer, and multidisciplinary artist based in New York City, where she works in the fashion industry. In 2024, she completed a three-year animation program at the Rhode Island School of Design, specializing in 2D animation. “Cracked” had its North America premiere at Dances with Films in New York City (DWF:NY) in January 2026. It has been accepted to two Academy Awards® Qualifying Festivals to date. It received a 10/10 score review by Film Threat and was called a “dystopian masterpiece” by Unseen Films.
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