I didn’t think long and hard about this month’s theme – it’s my favourite time of the year when I can shamelessly curate short film programmes about love to my heart’s content! Many of my favourite shorts are about love (and the sexy stuff that usually comes with…) – I think that any director who can give us something poignant about love in a short space of time has a special gift. Without further ado, I give you Lots of love and kisses – your Valentine’s collection.

On s’embrasse – Pierre-Olivier

I can’t believe I’ve waited eight Magathèques to get this film in, which I make a habit of showing at as many screenings as possible. The honesty and fragility in this performance has tugged hard at my heart strings more than once, even if I’m still on the fence about what I think the ending means…

Sweet - James Pilkington

Many moons before The Mighty Boosh, Noel Fielding played Pete Sweet – a somewhat lonely character from Camden who fills the void by creating an imaginary girlfriend.

Hotel Chevalier – Wes Anderson

With Anderson’s characteristic rich colours and wry direction, the magnetism and beauty of Schwatrzmann and Portman, and Paris as a backdrop, everything is in line for a great short film – and it doesn’t disappoint. This short is the first part of Anderson’s Indian feature adventure The Darjeeling Limited – although it stands up excellently on its own – and was shown in cinemas before each screening of the feature. If the quality as anywhere near as good as in this case, I very much hope this will be a model for other film releases to come.

Solkatten – Stina Bergman

I can honestly never say I’ve had a waiting room experience as exciting as this one – Swedish director Bergman shows us the explosive potential of a little imagination and a lack of dialogue.

Noodles – Jordan Feldman

Another muted encounter, this time across a crowded room, which makes unashamed use of one of the sluttiest songs I think I’ve ever heard (Romuald’s A Strange Light in Your Eyes).

Never like the first time (trailer) – Jonas Odell

Alas I can only give you the trailer for this, but so heart-thumpingly and eye-poppingly dazzling is Odell’s docu-animation, that’s it’s worth making an exception. Using the voiceovers of 4 people discussing the drastically different circumstances of how they lost their virginity, Odell’s exquisitely crafted sketches have you mesmerized every step of the way.

Horny – Lev

An animation of an altogether different kind, internet sensation and animator-wunderkid Lev gets some rather steamy thoughts off his plate and onto paper – yep, Lev’s ‘Horny’.

Jojo in the Stars – Marc Craste

Marc Craste’s Bafta-winning short film is about as tender as an animation can get. The price of love is never too high for our hero in his quest to rescue JoJo, the silver-plated trapeze artist. A tale of love, self-sacrifice, heroism and murderous jealousy in a world that is both nightmarish and hauntingly beautiful. Interestingly, the film was inspired by “The Carny”, a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

You are my High – Fabien Dufils

I should really be more sensitive to clichés about the French seeing as I live in Paris, but alas I have to declare that I can’t imagine any other nation producing such an unashamedly erotic video. This gem from 2001 has one of the dirtiest bass lines I’ve ever heard, which is perfectly accompanied by the heady visuals of a couple (boy+girl/girl+girl?) enjoying a good old French kiss.

She Loves me, She Loves me not – Jamie Rafn

The course of true love rarely runs smooth, and Jamie Rafn’s short is a fine example of the maxim at work. I doubt there’s a soul among us who hasn’t experienced more than one of the sketches which represent the alternating petals that our hero tears from the flower (Hence She Loves me, She loves me not…), but will he escape the Guinness the second time around?

Inside Out – The Guard Brothers

Not since Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet has a window played such an instrumental role in love at first sight. If you ever thought that Oxford Street was one of the least romantic places in the world, maybe this little clip will have you thinking again.

Tolya – Rodeon Brodsky

Cinema with a level of integrity and sensitivity that we’ve come to expect from the excellent Sam Spiegel school in Israel, former student Brodsky gives us Tolya – a man who fights to transmit his affection to his loved-one against all the odds.

The Last Farm – Runar Runarsson

Every time I watch The Last Farm I feel like a part of my soul leaves my body and joins the film’s protagonist. There is only one short film that has ever made me weep, and it’s this one. A true miniature masterpiece, Icelandic director Runarsson reminds us of the meaning of ‘til death do us part – except that parting comes more easily to some than others.