A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil (2026)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

2026 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW! 

As the title of the film might suggest, this is A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil. What that means exactly stumped me, however, until I began watching. This short film follows Curtis Ingvoldstad, an artist, as he sculpts and maintains a twenty-foot pencil constructed of a downed tree. Trust me, there’s more to this story than you could ever possibly imagine. 

Curtis reminds me of a colleague of mine, someone who can walk into the room and light it up. As the subject of a short film, it doesn’t get much better than this. Even better, Curtis doesn’t feel like some fabrication to entertain viewers throughout A Short Documentary About a Pencil, but the honest reality of who and what this person is. His inclusion in the entirety of this film is welcome, and his honesty—including excitement, reticence, etc.—play a pivotal role in how well viewers will receive this film. 

It often baffles me what ideas or subjects filmmakers can turn into compelling art. A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil is one of those times in which it doesn’t really make sense how someone can take a subject so simple and create an entertaining film from it. Director Daniel Straub, however, is able to extend the story of this giant pencil just far enough that it aptly acknowledges its cultural significance without being gratuitous or insincere. Furthermore, by the end of this film, I genuinely gave a shit about a giant pencil (who would’ve thought?). 

Straub and his team casually approach this subject. They don’t take themselves too seriously, and they don’t attempt to oversell something that may initially be challenging to buy into. They take on A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil with sincerity, but understand that the cultural impression that this object has had on its community may not necessarily translate to the audience. Regardless, they know the strength of their subject matter—and that aforementioned sincerity lends itself to success. 

I fell in love with a pencil, and I’m not afraid to admit it. No, this isn’t an episode of My Strange Addiction, and the clear obsession that the showcased community has with the pencil feels warranted, and, yet, somehow unbelievable. A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil is quick to the punch, and is succinctly preceded by glorious exposition. 

Directed by Daniel Straub. 

Starring The Loti Pencil, Curtis Ingvoldstad, John Higgins, Amy Higgins, & Over 10,001 Pencil Enthusiasts. 

8.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING