AI-assisted Animation | 00:03:20 | 2026

The House Always Wins is a surreal, dialogue-free animation set inside a mysterious living casino. A cat gambler enters the casino with a golden invitation card bearing the symbol of a heart. As it searches for its assigned table, it passes through four halls inspired by the four suits of playing cards: Diamond, Club, Spade, and Heart. Each space gradually reveals a different aspect of the casino’s strange existence, from geometric order and silent observation to flowing movement and an almost organic heartbeat. Playing cards take flight, chandeliers become watching eyes, and millions of chips transform into waves, animals, and the silhouette of the casino itself. When the cat finally reaches the heart-shaped table, it discovers that the casino is not merely a building, but a vast living organism. The ending reveals the casino breathing quietly in the darkness, waiting for the next gambler to enter. Through surreal imagery and symbolic world-building, the film explores the mysterious relationship between chance, desire, and the invisible forces that draw us into the game.

Muyun Ni and Qingwen Wang are animation students at Communication University of Zhejiang, China. Their creative practices explore animation, visual storytelling, and imaginative world-building, with particular interest in how cultural experiences and cinematic language shape stories, spaces, and emotions. Through both traditional and digital approaches, they continue to develop personal visual languages that combine animation with cinematic storytelling.