In a project led by series producer and editor Ben Fee, 19 filmmakers have turned the old Surrealist “exquisite corpse” creation method into a “collaborative filmmaking game,” Exquisite Shorts, that you can watch above.

Previously used throughout the 20th century to create poetry and artwork, the method lends itself beautifully to collaborative filmmaking, particularly when the creators are as inventive as the ones in this group. (Names involved who are familiar to Filmmaker readers include Travis Stevens as well as Courtney and Hillary Andujar, who appeared on last year’s 25 New Faces list.) In the 12-minute piece they mix short visual gags, lo-fi poetry, ultra-brief genre excursions and homemade VFX into a trance-like flow. The cuts from one short to the next are consistently rewarding as the filmmakers execute the exquisite corpse “first/last” prompts in surprising ways. From the project’s information page:

Exquisite Shorts—adapted from the drawing game “exquisite corpse”—is the direct product of missing making films with friends and peers. Each of the 19 filmmakers or duos was given two words to be spoken, shown, or both—one for the beginning of their own film and one for the end. Nobody knew what the other words or segments were. Each segment’s second word is the following segment’s first word, and so on and so forth, making the films connect fluidly in a stream of consciousness—creating this anthology of diverse visual flavors. Enjoy!

Volume 1 Filmmakers:

Filmmakers: Ariel Fish, Ben Kutsko, Winnie Cheung, Travis Stevens, Courtney Andujar, Andrew and Elsbeth Mumm, Matt Boman and Tosca Rivola, Hunter Adams, Sarah Lind, Doug Klinger and Machete Bang Bang, Theresa Desautels, Jessica Calleiro, Ben Fee, Emily Andujar and Manuel Taylor-Alcocer, Bossi Dean Baker, June Zandona, Hillary Andujar, Niles Howard and Kayli Stollak, Kevin Kearney and Mary Florence Brown.