Northwest Animation Festival, Portland’s rangy celebration of animated spectacle, returns with more than 150 screenings of short films from all over the world. From snowfalls to stilts, we’ve picked our five favorites from this year’s selection of cinematic treats.

Aubade

This award-winning short from Switzerland’s Mauro Carraro pays tribute to the dawn as swimmers and birds witness a cellist rise from the water and play the sunrise.

AUBADE [Trailer] from Mauro Carraro on Vimeo.

Baths

Poland’s Tomek Ducki takes us on a deep, deep dive into a new reality as two elderly women take to the baths.

Łaźnia - Baths - Trailer 2013 from Tomek Ducki on Vimeo.

Futon

Yoriko Mizushiri’s sensuous take on the liminal space between sleeping and waking is a shape-shifting delight from Japan.

布団 FUTON (trailer) from Yoriko Mizushiri on Vimeo.

Snowfall

A winner at the Kerry Film Festival, the Dallas International Film Festival, and the Cardiff Independent Film Festival, this piece from Irish filmmaker Conor Whelan details a meaningful encounter at a party with subtle sweetness.

Snowfall - Trailer from Conor Whelan on Vimeo.

The Story of Percival Pilts

A stop-motion fairytale from Australians Janette Goodey and John Lewis, The Story of Percival Pilts recounts in rhyme what happens when one man’s dreams isolate him from the low-walking world.

The Story of Percival Pilts TEASER from Finickity Pictures on Vimeo.

The Northwest Animation Festival runs through Sunday, May 15.