2027 Oscars Short Film Contenders: ‘Cosmonauts’ Director Leo Černic

Cosmonauts is a 2026 Slovenian-Italian 2D animated short directed by Leo Černic. Three lonely passengers on an intergalactic singles cruise confront love and loneliness in different ways.

A Three-Pronged Story aboard a Space Cruise

The setting of the 2026 animated short 《Cosmonauts》 is the “Pompelmo Express,” an interstellar cruise ship for singles. The lonely passengers gathered aboard pursue kisses, physical intimacy, or traces of love among the stars. Although the film uses the vastness of space as its backdrop, its focus remains on the deeply personal desires of people who want to form connections.

Different Ways of Loving

The story follows three characters in parallel: Delfino, Rita, and Genf. Delfino, dressed in leather BDSM attire, believes in true love, while Rita, a cleaner who rarely attracts the passengers’ attention, endures her daily life. Genf, a cynical scientist who boards for research, also confronts personal emotions during the journey. From their different positions, the three characters’ movements ask how far one can go in pursuit of love.

Space Rendered in Rough 2D Textures

Leo Černic handled direction, screenplay, art direction, and animation. The film is a 14-minute, 10-second 2D hand-drawn computer animation. Instead of polished images of space, it adopts a rough, organic texture reminiscent of underground comics, creating an atmosphere aboard the ship where desire and vulnerability coexist. It was produced by Finta Film and Staragara.IT, co-produced by RTV Slovenia, with Miyu Distribution handling distribution and sales.

According to Cartoon Brew, the film became eligible for Oscar submission after winning the Bucharest Animest Trophy.

Sources: Official Finta Film project page · Cartoon Brew