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Down To The Bone

Little Michael has vicious allergies, and when babysitter Meredith arrives for a night of no-nonsense, he's swiftly dispatched to the yard...where his delicate condition takes a turn for the worse.

  • Peter Ahern
    Director
    Buzzkill, The Kindness of Others, Awkward Pick Up Lines, Salty Toons
  • Peter Ahern
    Writer
    Buzzkill, The Kindness of Others, Awkward Pick Up Lines
  • Peter Ahern
    Animator
    Buzzkill, The Kindness of Others, Entergalactic, Eminem & Snoop Dogg: From the D 2 the LBC, An Oddish Tale, Awkward Pick Up Lines, Chosin: Baptized By Fire
  • Peter Ahern
    Producer
    Buzzkill, The Kindness of Others, Awkward Pick Up Lines, Salty Toons
  • Kelly McCormack
    Key Cast
    "Meredith"
    Buzzkill, A League of Their Own Series, Problemista, George & Tammy, Letterkenny, Sugar Daddy, Killjoys
  • Peter Ahern
    Key Cast
    "Michael"
    Buzzkill, In the Air Is Christopher Gray, The Kindness of Others, Awkward Pick Up Lines
  • Julie Crawford
    Key Cast
    "Mother"
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Horror, Animation
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 3, 2009
  • Production Budget:
    250 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Pratt Institute
  • Animation Block Party
    Brooklyn
    United States
    June 26, 2010
  • ASIFA East
    New York, NY
    United States
    Winner: 1st Place Student Film
  • Big Cartoon Fest
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
  • CineSol Film Festival
    Rio Grande Valley, TX
    United States
  • Cucalorus Film Festival
    Wilmington, NC
    United States
  • Florida Film Festival
    Maitland, FL
    United States
    April 10, 2010
  • London Intl. Animation Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
  • Martha's Vineyard Intl. Film Festival
    Martha's Vineyard, MA
    United States
  • Melbourne Intl. Animation Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
  • San Francisco Independent Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
  • Short Sharp Shocks! Vol 4.
    Leicester, EN
    United Kingdom
  • South by Southwest
    Austin, TX
    United States
    March 13, 2010
  • Tallgrass Film Festival
    Wichita, KS
    United States
  • Twillerama
    New York, NY
    United States
  • Woodstock Film Festival
    Woodstock, NY
    United States
    October 16, 2010
Director Biography - Peter Ahern

Peter Ahern is an award winning filmmaker, animator and illustrator living in Brooklyn, New York.

After graduating from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Film & Animation, he began freelancing as a 2D animator, designer and director on a wide variety of commercial, television and music video projects for clients such as Netflix, Pokémon, the NBA, 2 Chainz, Eminem & Snoop Dogg, Showtime, Disney and the X-Games. In addition, his short films have played around the world at dozens of prestigious festivals, illustrations have been both published and featured in prominent gallery exhibitions and he's served on several film festival juries.

Recently, his short film BUZZKILL screened at over 60 festivals, winning 12 awards including "Best Animated Short" at Screamfest, Flicker's Vortex, GenreBlast and Woodstock - the latter resulting in the qualification for Academy Award consideration. It’s now streaming on Alter, Screambox and as a Vimeo Staff Pick.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Down To The Bone is Peter Ahern's student thesis film from Pratt Institute, animated traditionally with paper, pencils, ink and markers. It premiered at SXSW before screening in over 30 festivals, winning several awards and becoming a finalist for a Student Academy Award nomination.

After its initial festival run, the short was distributed on several film compilations such as "The Best of Animation Block Party" and "Twillerama Vol.1" and aired on TV via PBS's "Reel 13 Presents", before finding its home online.

In 2024 Down To The Bone received a brand new remastering, with 16:9 reformatting, updated color grading and additional animation detailing.

For inquiries, Peter Ahern can be reached at: peterliam.ahern@gmail.com