When the Sand Sprouts...

When the Sand Sprouts… (1986) is a Soviet animated short you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Galina Barinova. Based on an old Russian ballad: an evil sorcerer-shapeshifter despises his own son for showing no cruelty, no darkness — nothing the father recognises as kin.

He gives the boy an impossible command — come back only when the sand has sprouted. Two sisters trail their brother into danger and shelter him with the only magic available to them: love. Told in stark, near-archaic imagery, this ten-minute film carries a quiet weight that outlasts its runtime. Watch When the Sand Sprouts… (1986) online on iFILM.