Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. Around 2005 the Blender Foundation in the Netherlands had an unusual idea: if you want to improve a tool for artists, let a small team of artists use it to make a real film, and give them the developers' ear while they work.
The idea
Each “open movie” has the same recipe. A handful of artists and programmers get together in one place for several months. The artists tell a story and hit the limits of the software; the programmers fix what breaks. When the film is done, the film and the files used to make it are published for everyone.
Make a film, fix the tools, and give everything away.
The films
- 2006 — Elephants Dream, the very first open movie, made in Amsterdam.
- 2008 — Big Buck Bunny, a comedy that stress-tested fur and foliage.
- 2010 — Sintel, a fantasy short with a much more serious tone.
- 2012 — Tears of Steel, a sci-fi film that blended live action with computer-generated robots.
- 2019 — Spring, a poetic short with no dialogue at all.
Later projects continued the tradition, each one pushing a different part of the software. We only list films here once we have checked their license, which is why this archive is small.
Why it still matters
Because the films are openly licensed, teachers can screen them, students can take them apart, and anyone can build on them. That is exactly what makes them a good fit for an archive like this one.