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This programme examines some big life moments and asks pointed questions. The ten powerful films include looks at father/son and father/daughter relationships, an honest and very personal insight into the world of an overwhelmed mother, a lively, stop-motion plastic farewell dance and a bleak vision of chaos and disintegration in the midst of war in Syria.
Independent animation is an art form that continues to thrive and develop as a breath-taking 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 2,400 entries to put together a series of screenings that showcase the best 80 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. Every technique, every genre, every style – this is your annual window into the international indie animation universe.
KKUM – Kangmin Kim, South Korea/USA

A mother, hit with a sense of foreboding, reaches out across vast distances to check if her son is okay.
2020 9 min
No Leaders Please – Joan Gratz, USA

A gorgeous painterly depiction of the poem by Charles Bukowski inspired by artists Basquiat, Banksy, Haring and Ai Weiwei to represent the poem’s theme of self-invention.
2020 2 min
Sisters – Andrea Szelesová, Czech Republic

The Big Sister – a person of colossal size – is trapped in sand in a deserted landscape.
2021 11 min
We Hope You Won’t Need to Come Back – Anastazja Naumenko, Poland

Postpartum – Henriette Rietz, Germany

A Bite of Bone – Honami Yano, Japan

Butterfly Jam – Shih-Yen Huang, France

A young girl describes her father and his relationship with all his pets that he never really knew how to look after.
2021 10 min
Comeback – Vladimir Leschiov, Latvia

A loving look at holding onto your dreams, childhood memories and the relationship of fathers to sons.
2021 8 min
Have a Nice Dog! – Jalal Maghout, Germany

In Damascus, surrounded by war, an isolated man becomes increasingly lost in fantasies of escaping and the inner dialogues with his dog.
2020 13 min
Orgiastic Hyper-Plastic – Paul Bush, Denmark/UK

An elegy to a love affair that has gone sour, a fond farewell to that most beautiful material that has enslaved our planet – plastic.
2020 7 min
Our Funding Partners

Event supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London. Proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery.