Animation in its purest form, this is LIAF’s annual collection of the most impressive, expressive abstract and experimental animated films from all over the world.
At Barbican book tickets
A Very Large Increase in the Size, Amount, or Importance of Something Over a Very Short Period of Time (Max Hattler, UK)
Life springs eternal from the geometrical genius of a universe we still cannot bring ourselves to understand.
2’00, 2013
Minotaur (Munro Ferguson, Canada)
The archetypal hero takes a journey through the seven stages of birth, childhood, mission, labyrinth, monster, battle and death/rebirth.
6’50, 2014
Sillon 672 (Bastien Dupriez, France)
Colour and motion drive you deep into the groove of vinyl.
4’30, 2014
Across the Light (Hui Chi Chuang, Taiwan/USA)
Inspired by microbiology and scientific experiments – a surreal peek into the micro-structure of living organisms.
3’00, 2014
Journey (Anita Gill, UK)
Childhood memories of a Mother’s time living in India in the 1960s. The vibrancy of daily life in the city.
1’55, 2014
MTL Rush (Mathieu Guimond, Canada)
An experimental essay on colour and movement, scratched and painted directly on 35mm film during the winter of 2014.
2’35, 2014
Pluto 3000 (Enrico Ascoli & Fabio Tonetto, Italy)
Aiming high, a deconstructionalist approach to creating an abstract version of the best Pluto ever.
1’15, 2014
Give Me a Pie (Gina Kamentsky, USA)
Through a noisy collage of crash tests, many dogs and a pie, a peg-leg man dreams of a burlesque woman.
1’20, 2013
Scribbledub (Ross Hogg, UK)
A perfectly paced parade of mini eruptions, each contained perfectly within its frame and setting the scene for the next – and the next, and the next.
2’55, 2014
Don’t Worry I’ll Do It (Jordan Wang, USA)
I don’t care, it’s up to you. Don’t worry, I’ll do it. I deserve it, it’s fine. Some days are better, overall I’m OK. Take your time, no rush.
4’10, 2014
Line (Steven Subotnick, USA)
The line as conductor, orchestra, star and supporting cast. Front of stage and re-configuring the frame. The Line.
2’20, 2014
Improvisation No.1: Cumulative Loops (Luigi Allemano, Canada)
The audio-visual artifact of an improvisation in hand-drawn animation and musical collage.
3’20, 2013
Banquet of Love (Haruka Mitani & Michael Lyons, Japan)
Starting out with found footage of a forest, this piece rapidly lurches into a fully immersive abstract experience.
6’30, 2014
Abstract Iterations II (Sabrina Schmid, UK)
A playful tribute to the avant-garde artist Malevich who made the ultimate statement on abstraction 100 years ago by painting the iconic image of the ‘Black Square’.
4’20, 2015
Sumsing (Martin Rahmlow, Germany)
A mesmerising journey through dark, amorphous, geometric forms.
3’50, 2014
Locus of Everyday Life (Sawako Kynd, Japan)
A work of astounding beauty and visual complexity, rising over its course to an apex of movement and ongoing adaptive alteration.
6’55, 2014
East Meets West (Dirk de Bruyn, Australia)
When abstract cinema is swallowed by the Academy, the street is emptied. Technique becomes subservient, immobilised in service to the past, to become a marker of lost ideologies.
4’25, 2015
Once Canada Square (Simon Ball, UK)
Taking London’s financial heartland as a starting point for an architectural exploration of notions of progress and development.
5’00, 2014
Ten Anagrams for Norman McLaren (Delphine Burrus, France)
Reconfiguring the letters of “Be Gone Dull Care” into new words provides the inspirational stepping off points for a series of short homage pieces to Norman McLaren.
4’25, 2014
