Annecy Review: Shinya Ohira’s "Black" Delivers a Bold, Psychedelic "Star Wars: Visions" Short
The 2025 Annecy Festival kicked off in grand fashion with its traditional opening ceremony and a screening of five shorts in competition. Among them was Star Wars: Visions – Black, a hypnotic 13-minute experience that closed out the package. Annecy Artistic Director Marcel Jean introduced the short by revealing he visited Lucasfilm earlier this year, screened all of Volume 3, and personally selected Black as the festival’s lone Star Wars representative.
Director Shinya Ohira, in attendance with a translator, described the piece as a “labor of love," one that required the kind of effort usually reserved for a feature film. Known for his singular animation work on Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Ghost in the Shell 2, and The Boy and the Heron, Ohira brings an unmistakable, hand-drawn style to the galaxy far, far away. And what he delivers is wholly unique: Black doesn’t just subvert expectations, it vaporizes them.
Set non-canonically during the Original Trilogy era, Black follows two Stormtroopers in what appear to be their final moments, caught between collapsing timelines, battles, and psyches. Whether it's the Battle of Yavin, the Battle of Hoth, or something entirely symbolic, the short never clarifies. Instead, it drops viewers into a fragmented world where helmets crack, eyes stare back at you from shadows, and death feels as ambient as the stars.
Ohira’s direction is breathless and bold. Sharp, fast-moving lines suggest panic. Splashes of color, including red and green highlights to differentiate the two Troopers, flash against stark black-and-white scenes. The visual language is constantly shifting, much like the troopers’ grasp on time and reality. The cracked visors revealing their eyes become a powerful motif, echoed in the constant appearance of staring irises across the abstract battlefield.
Matching this fever dream is a soundscape that turns Star Wars tradition on its head. Gone is the orchestral fanfare, replaced by frenzied jazz riffs that make your heart race. The sound design deliberately mismatches action and audio: quiet moments are blaring; grand explosions (like the Death Star) occur in eerie silence. It’s disorienting and deeply effective.
Thematically, Black invites reflection more than interpretation. Is “black" the void of space? The second layer of Stormtrooper armor? The emptiness of following orders without question? Or is it, as the short subtly hints, the color of every iris, the soul beneath the mask? There’s no definitive answer, which makes this one of the most haunting entries ever seen in Star Wars: Visions.
Like all great art, Black will be dissected, debated, and likely evolve with each viewing. In its short runtime, it captures a visceral sense of existential dread while making the viewer feel—really feel—what it might be like to be one of the Empire’s faceless, forgotten soldiers.
It’s no surprise that Marcel Jean chose Black to represent Visions at Annecy. Shinya Ohira’s work may be noncanonical, but it’s no less essential. This is Star Wars at its most avant-garde, and it’s absolutely unforgettable.
Black will be available to stream on Disney+ alongside the rest of Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 later this year.