Alma

On a cold winter day in Barcelona, a wide-eyed girl named Alma wanders through pale cobblestones, drawn by the hush of snowfall and the glow of shop windows. Her curiosity leads her to a small toy shop where a doll in the display bears an almost perfect likeness to her. The door to the shop slides open as if by magic, inviting her inside. Yet the identical figure seems to vanish the moment Alma approaches, leaving her dizzy with unease. Outside, the city stays hushed while inside the shop the air feels uncanny and alive with possibilities. The scene sets a mood that blends wonder with a creeping dread.

Directed by Rodrigo Blaas with Bolhem Bouchiba, Alma is a self-contained animated short released in 2009. It originated as an independent piece that drew attention for its tactile, hand crafted visuals and Blaas's background in larger studio features. The film blends European design sensibilities with a concise, eerie storytelling approach that suits festival screens and online viewing.

Box office figures for Alma are not publicly reported. The short circulated mainly through film festivals and online showcases, not a wide theatrical run. Its audience grew through word of mouth among animation fans, educators, and festival programmers who champion tight, atmospheric horror in under ten minutes.

Among animation enthusiasts, Alma is praised for its restrained approach to fear. The minimal dialogue, stark winter palette, and the sense that ordinary spaces can conceal danger have influenced later micro budget horror shorts. It appears in discussions of how to fuse whimsy with dread without resorting to jump scares.

Critics highlight the film's economy of detail and the way it probes identity and longing through a single, haunting encounter. Themes include imitation and the lure of the familiar, the instability of perception, and the uncanny pull of objects that resemble us. The result is a compact piece that lingers well after the credits.