Read @ Joe’s

SLAMDANCE ’26: 99 Special

Title: Staring Contest (2026) Director: Courtney Sposato Writer: Courtney Sposato Studio: Houndstooth Studios IMDb Plot: Two friends are having a staring contest when something enters and everything changes. Joe Says: Staring Contest is a 99 second animated short that might be brief on run time but is lengthy in topic.

Staring Contest is a 99 second animated short that might be brief on run time but is lengthy in topic. Two friends, a bunny and bear, start the day with a friendly staring game. But in a class full of bears, the bunny is soon singled out – nay, targeted – by being different. The staring game soon becomes a political contest of who will blink first.

Courtney Sposato’s animation style is deceptively simple, which makes the shift from innocent to insidious hit harder. Childhood anxiety and parental dread hum beneath every frame, transforming a simple gaze into a political standoff.

For a first time animator, Sposato shows remarkable style. Staring Contest proves that sometimes a minute-and-a-half is more than enough time to make a crowd uncomfortable in all the right ways.

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This review – and much more – is available as part of Cinefied’s Slamdance 2026 coverage

Be sure to catch Staring Contest – and many other indie projects – over at Slamdance