The backbone of the whole LIAF mission. We’ve emerged from under the pile of 2,400 entries to put together a series of programmes that showcase the best 128 new films. Six ‘general’ International Competition Programmes, our ever popular Abstract Showcase and Long Shorts programmes, plus the British Showcase and Animated Documentaries. The films come in from every corner, they use every technique, they can be funny, dramatic, eye-popping, subdued, documentary or autobiographical. The one thing they have in common is that we think they’re the pick of the crop.
Animation is the most innovative of all art forms and these films demonstrate the ability to experiment with, deconstruct and ultimately reinvent film language. In these absorbing shorts you’ll encounter films about sleep disturbance, a dreamy tale about early cinema and encounter Paris as a cell seen through a virtual microscope.
At Barbican book tickets
Ghost Cell (Antoine Delacharlery, France)
A truly stunning, breathtakingly intricate re-imagining of Paris as a massive, thriving organism of a billion pieces.
6’00, 2014
Me By You (David Buob, Germany)
Life’s like an animated film, a never-ending chain of changes.
8’00, 2015
Soil is Alive (Beatrice Pucci, Italy)
A dark tale without heroes, looking for something that might not be there.
8’00, 2016
Otto (Salvatore Murgia & Dario Imbrogno, Italy)
The switch from 2D to 3D is a turn of events Otto hadn’t anticipated at the beginning of his day.
2’00, 2015
Uuuuuu (David Delafuente, USA)
Sometimes the best thoughts come to you at 3am. Against the black of night, simple white lines push those thoughts into bright relief.
4’00, 2015
Mr. Sand (Soetkin Verstegen, Denmark/Belgium)
Is Mr. Sand real or imaginary? A dreamy bedtime story about early cinema.
8’00, 2016
Ariadne’s Thread (Claude Luyet, Switzerland)
Ariadne loses the ball she was playing with, along with her childhood.
13’00, 2016
Slow Wave (Andy Kennedy, USA)
Sleep disturbances from outside and within.
3’00, 2016
The Lighthouse (Simon Schreiber, The Netherlands)
A lighthouse keeper’s surprising discovery pulls him out of his monotonous, daily routine and takes him onto a journey into uncharted territory.
11’00, 2016
He and Sea (Kris Genijn & Pieter Vanluffelen, Belgium)
A man, born of the sea is in search of his origins. The closer he gets to his goal, the more he loses of himself.
8’00, 2016
Noevus (Samuel Yal, France)
Fragments of porcelain, enamels and rust- a metamorphing mystery.
8’00, 2016
Once Upon A Line (Alicja Jasina, Poland/USA)
Stunning! A man lives a boring life until he meets somebody and his world turns upside down.
7’00, 2016