Watch: Vibrant Animated Short ‘Acid Rain’ About a Girl Going to a Rave

Watch: Vibrant Animated Short ‘Acid Rain’ About a Girl Going to a Rave

by Alex Billington
November 10, 2023
Source: YouTube

“No idea where we are.” Remember raves? Anyone miss them? After watching this short film, you might be glad they’re not happening much anymore. Not always the best experience. Acid Rain is an animated short from Poland made by animation filmmaker Tomek Popakul. This first premiered in 2019 and we missed it then, but thanks to Short of the Week we have a chance to experience it now. When a runaway teenage girl meets Skinny, a peculiar drug dealer, the infatuation quickly shows its darker side. “With a sound design as impressive as its visuals, director Tomek Popakul has created an animated trip with sociopolitical layers and great beats.” This girl ends up on an intense trip with psychedelic mushrooms, traveling to an underground rave in the forest where she encounters all kinds of strange people. The voice cast features Daria Bułka, Piotr Bułka, & Maciej Miszczak. It’ a trippy short that runs long, but I dig the imagery and honest story.

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this debuting on YT. Brief synopsis for Acid Rain from YouTube: “After running away from her depressing village in Eastern Europe, a teen girl embarks on a pupil-dilating journey through rave culture after meeting a wild new friend on a bridge.” Acid Rain is a short film written and directed by the Polish filmmaker Tomek Popakul – he does not have an official website or IG available right now. Popakul is an animator, director and screenwriter. He graduated in animation and screenwriting from the Łódź Film School. Acid Rain is produced by Piotr Szczepanowicz and Grzegorz Waclawek. Made by Animoon. With cinematography and editing and animation by Tomek Popakul. This initially premiered at the 2019 Rotterdam Film Festival a few years ago, and it also played at Sundance and many other festivals. For more info on this film, visit It’s Nice That or SOTW. To discover more shorts, click here. Your thoughts?

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