Andruw Cervantes 2026

Abstract

What Lies Beyond is a six-minute animated short film about an alien scientist named Nova inventing an all-powerful element dubbed the Volatium as a means of faster-than-light travel. This leads to chaos for Nova and her assistant Orion and now they will have to figure out how to control the Volatium before it's too late. The title "What Lies Beyond" has two meanings, one being named after Nova's desire to discover 'what lies beyond' her home planet. The second meaning is that her home world lies beyond the observable universe. This work was a collaborative effort, with me being the director of thirteen different people who helped me with voice acting, backgrounds, and animation.