Ink Films, the fresh theatrical offshoot of Las Vegas’ Beverly Theater, has revealed its debut project: Animation Mixtape, a feature-length anthology of animated shorts curated by indie legend Don Hertzfeldt (Rejected, World of Tomorrow). The film will be released exclusively in North American theaters this fall.
Billed as “a dazzling journey through the minds of the world’s most exciting animators,” Animation Mixtape blends 12 short films spanning the surreal, absurd, and poetic. According to Ink Films, viewers should expect flying cows, strange gods, and even some never-before-seen work from underground icon Bruce Bickford (Prometheus’ Garden, Cas’l). Hertzfeldt himself produced a new animated introduction for the collection.
The lineup, personally selected by Hertzfeldt, mixes emerging artists with cult classics that inspired him to begin animating over 30 years ago.
According to the Oscar-nominated filmmaker:
Animated short films are a vital part of our cinematic ecosystem, and I’ll always leap at every opportunity to bring the work of amazing artists to the biggest screens we can find. This feature-length collection includes many strange treasures I’ve admired over the years — from new films that haven’t been released widely yet, to titles that inspired me to become an animator over thirty years ago.
Animation Mixtape marks Ink Films’ first major release since launching in 2024. The distributor describes itself as a home for “habitual line-crossers” dedicated to theatrical storytelling. Based on this first project, they seem serious about that mission.