Independent animation is an art form that continues to thrive and develop as a breathtaking medley of styles, materials, techniques and production – from hand drawn, paint on glass, collage, sculpture, cut outs, puppets, abstract to some of the more interesting developments in CGI – all of which can be seen at this year’s LIAF.
We’ve emerged from under the pile of 2,700 entries to put together a series of screenings that showcase the best 97 new films from every corner of the world. They can be funny, dramatic, bizarre, subdued, scary or autobiographical. The one thing they have in common is that we think they’re the pick of the crop.
Eight international competition programmes plus our ever-popular British Showcase. Every technique, every genre, every style – this is your annual window into the international indie animation universe.
This programme features nine creepy, dystopian masterpieces alongside all manner of dark, scary, violent and spooky films.
Spooky forests and macabre landscapes are a recurring theme this year. Here you will find a strange hunter sacrificing his own body as food for the forest children, a Park Ranger following the trail of her dead brother in the woods and some vulnerable children on a mysterious island.
A livestreamed Screen Talk will follow the screening with filmmakers: Jennifer Alice Wright, Sarina Nihei & Sarah Benson.
ONLINE Pre-order tickets
100,000 Acres of Pine (Jennifer Alice Wright, Denmark/UK)
A Park Ranger attempts to uncover the mystery surrounding her brother’s death. But following his footsteps, she discovers a darkness that she may not be able to escape.
2020, 7min
Algen (Erik Svetoft, Sweden)
Two dancing animals at a forest zoo get humiliated and decide to run away in search of freedom.
UK premiere
2019, 8min
Pandora (Matthias Lerch, Germany)
A startling adaptation of the well-known tale – what happens when the dead come alive.
UK premiere
2020, 7min
Tenant (Sarah Benson, Ireland)
A girl moves into an apartment and becomes consumed with curiosity for her reclusive, strange flatmate.
UK premiere
2020, 6min
Polka-Dot Boy (Sarina Nihei, France)
A boy suffers from a polka-dot disease on his arms which leads him to discover a hidden connection between the disease and a religious group.
UK premiere
2020, 8min
Noctuelle (Martin A. Petrlíček, Czech Republic)
Dreams become nightmares, butterflies and bats.
UK premiere
2019, 10min
Mekakure (Akifumi Nonaka, Japan)
Shun is forced into playing with four friends. But they are not friends, he hates them. The unbearable heat and heavy atmosphere deepen his depression.
UK premiere
2019, 5min
Wild Beasts (Marta Prokopová & Michal Blašk, Czech Republic)
Three stories set on a mysterious island. Three broken relationships through the eyes of one woman and two animals.
UK premiere
2019, 9min
Wood Child and Hidden Forest Mother (Stephen Irwin, UK)
Deep in the forest, a hunter encounters a strange creature he cannot kill.
2019, 10min
