Press Release

The Lovers, an Early Breakout of the Indie Animation Wave, Premieres Free on YouTube

Studio Heartbreak’s award-winning queer animated short set in a dark fantasy vision of Manila arrives online, after crowdfunding $400,000+ for an original story.

Studio Heartbreak will release its debut animated short film, The Lovers, free on YouTube with no ads, on August 29, 2026, at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT, or August 30, 2026, at 9 AM PHT. Watch the film here.

First introduced publicly in 2023, The Lovers became one of the early breakout projects of the modern indie animation wave. A first-time, globally distributed team of young artists raised more than $400,000 from more than 7,000 Kickstarter backers in 45 days for a new story with no existing franchise, celebrity creators, or traditional studio backing. Kickstarter later ranked The Lovers as the fifth-highest-funded Film & Video campaign across animation and live action of 2023.

The completed film went on to make its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and its North American premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival. At Fantasia, The Lovers won the 2026 Gold Audience Award for Best Animated Short. The film premiered in the US at HollyShorts 2026, an Academy Award- and BAFTA-qualifying festival. And now, the real test: Youtube.

THE LOVERS: Quick Facts

Film: The Lovers
Studio: Studio Heartbreak
Format: 15-minute independent animated short
Language: Tagalog with English subtitles
Genres: Romance, fantasy, body horror, LGBT
Kickstarter: Over $400,000 crowdfunded from 7,000+ backers in 45 days
Award: Fantasia 2026 Gold Audience Award for Best Animated Short
Online premiere: August 29, 2026 at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT, or August 30, 2026 at 9 AM PHT on YouTube

About the film and its creators

The Lovers is an independent animated film that follows Sara Lim Baylon, a reluctant seafood chef from Binondo, Manila. As the youngest member of her family to run their restaurant, Sara faces the daunting pressure to live up to her late father's reputation and keep the business afloat. When the governor's inauguration dinner is planned at the restaurant, featuring a sirena as the centerpiece, Sara finds herself drawn into a dangerous affair with the mythical creature.

The Lovers stars Vanille Velasquez (Valorant, League of Legends) as Sara and Dawn M. Bennett (Fire Emblem, Honkai: Star Rail, My Hero Academia) as Sirena.

The film’s directors keep their identities semi-private and appear at public events in signature fish masks. Inspired by the anonymity of many manga creators, they want the work to speak for itself and attention to be shared across the creative team.

Community and fandom

Since the campaign, Studio Heartbreak has used social media to share free production resources, tools, and lessons from its own development process to help other artists navigate independent animation, marketing, and crowdfunding. The studio has also advised independent creators developing campaigns for projects including Clara & the Below, Mmanwu, Mandelbrot Hall, Heathens, and Judas Iscariot.

On June 25, Studio Heartbreak organized the Bootleg Indie Animation Screening with Anike Studio and Annecy local Caro Astruz. Curated by Studio Heartbreak, the filmmaker-led showcase presented ten independent animated works from around the world and drew hundreds of attendees. Local French coverage is available from Le Dauphiné and Catsuka.

Studio Heartbreak also maintains an open fan-works policy. Independent artists may create and sell up to 300 pieces of fan merchandise and fanart, and create noncommercial or for-charity collaborative works based on the IP, including zines, reanimated projects and games. The complete policy is available here.

As of August 2026, the studio has a combined cross-platform audience of approximately 600,000 followers, and the 2023 trailer has received more than 2.9 million views.

About the studio + upcoming projects

Studio Heartbreak began after a group of students were rejected from every art internship they applied to and found themselves with nothing to do that summer. Rather than wait for someone else’s permission to enter the industry, they brought together friends, peers, and Instagram mutuals to build a crowdfunding campaign and make their first film.

The original 30-second trailer was created entirely through volunteer work. After the Kickstarter campaign raised more than six times its original goal, the creators used part of the funding to retroactively compensate every contributing artist at their going rates.

The Lovers is Studio Heartbreak’s debut short film. The studio is currently developing a new original 2D/3D adult animated web series about VTubers, androids, and biotech startups that play god.