Microshort Stories:
one life, ninety seconds

The series

Microshort Stories is an ongoing series of ninety-second animated films created by Project Witness for Holocaust education. Each episode follows a true story, with lesson plans developed for classroom use.

Project Witness provides the scripts, historical source material and voiceover recordings. Elaion Studio develops the visual storytelling and produces the 3D animation, music and sound design.

Watch the series at Project Witness →

The challenge

Each episode has ninety seconds to introduce a person, establish the circumstances and tell the story clearly. The audience includes students encountering this history for the first time.

Our task is to make the events understandable while treating the people and the material with care. That means choosing what to show, what to suggest through sound, and where a quieter image can carry more than a literal depiction.

Guards and prisoners seen through a dark doorway, with smoke rising outside, in an animated scene from Microshort Stories.

How we make an episode

We begin with Project Witness's script and historical material, then research the visual details needed for the scenes: locations, clothing, objects and the context around an action.

Storyboards and an animatic establish the camera, composition and timing. We review these with Project Witness before moving into full production, including decisions about how sensitive events will be represented.

Design, lighting, character performance and editing shape the finished episode. Music and sound design are developed alongside the images to support the story within its short running time.

We share progress with Project Witness at agreed stages so historical detail, interpretation and tone can be reviewed as the episode develops.

Hands arranging French identity papers and ration cards in an animated scene from Microshort Stories: The Forger.

Made for classrooms and shared online

Project Witness pairs the films with educational materials and releases them through its website and social channels. The short format gives teachers an entry point into a larger history and allows the stories to reach audiences beyond the classroom.

  • Microshort Stories Episode 1, The Forger: poster showing a 3D-animated man with glasses writing at a desk.
  • Microshort Stories Episode 2, The Boxer: poster showing a 3D-animated boxer with a bruised face in a striped prisoner uniform.
  • Microshort Stories Episode 3, The Four Photographs: poster showing a 3D-animated prisoner standing against a brick wall.
  • Microshort Stories Episode 4, The Sultan Who Said No: poster showing a 3D-animated sultan seated opposite a uniformed officer.
  • Microshort Stories Episode 5, The Child Survivor of Buchenwald: poster showing a 3D-animated boy with an adult’s hand on his shoulder.
  • Microshort Stories Episode 6, The Weissmandl Rescues: poster showing a 3D-animated rabbi reading by candlelight.
  • Microshort Stories Episode 7, Coffins, Ambulances, and Suitcases: poster showing a 3D-animated Irena Sendler at a desk by candlelight.

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