Tears (2025)

-Written by Michelle Vorob.

2026 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!

Tears (Rozdarcia) is a creative short animated film by Paulina Ziolkowska. Ziolkowska is a Polish film director, 2D animator, and illustrator, whose work has an abstract, surrealist style.

Tears is a social commentary about a woman seemingly overwhelmed by choices, but I interpreted it more as an issue of depression and social anxiety that affected her choices, rather than simply the issue of how making choices shapes our lives. 

What's wonderful about Tears is how much information is conveyed in such a short period of time. Clocking in under nine minutes, Tears depicts the life of a woman in a bustling city, constantly feeling torn and pulled in every direction, with expectations she feels she can't meet, decisions she questions, and interpersonal relationships that feel strained, forced, or inadequate. 

Interestingly, this isn't the first short film I've seen that creatively tackles how our choices affect the course of our lives in both small and significant ways, more importantly how feelings of inadequacy and social expectations make us question our choices, or choose differently than we would, if outside pressure and influence wasn't a factor.

I wasn't quite sure what I was watching when I first started Tears. I wasn't even sure if the title was Tears as in rips or Tears as in crying. It became clear that Tears did mean rips, as in being pulled in many directions, or being torn open and apart, but certainly, all the turmoil can and does result in crying tears.

Tears is the newest animated film released by Ziolkowska and has been selected at several film festivals, currently running at the Slamdance festival in Los Angeles from February 19 to 25, 2026, and virtually from February 24 to March 6, 2026, on the Slamdance Channel. 

Written & Directed by Paulina Ziolkowska. 

7/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE