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Persuasive, illustrative and able to get over abstract details in attractive and compelling ways, animation is the perfect tool to document someone’s vision of the truth. This past decade has seen a boom in non-fiction films that use animation to tell their stories and LIAF has been one of the vanguards with our annual showcase dedicated to the documentary form dating back to 2008. This year’s programme features eleven of the best true life stories coupled with mind-blowing imagery.
We will be joined by Anastasia Beltyukova, director of Heart of the Nation PLUS the team behind the Academy-Award nominated film ‘Only A Child’ – director Simone Giampaolo and the sound team Etienne Kompis and Loic Kreyden. Screentalk at venue only.
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 2,400 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.
Save Ralph – Spencer Susser, UK
Ralph, a bunny being interviewed for a documentary, goes through his daily routine as a “tester” in a lab.
2021 4 min
Timeline – Osbert Parker, UK
A dizzying array of live-action, personal photos and stop-motion objects illustrate an investigation into personal narratives behind 400 years of emigration from Britain.
2021 5 min
The Train Driver – Zuniel Kim & Christian Wittmoser, Germany
Throughout Bernd Ziegler’s professional life he has killed six people because they threw themselves in front of his train. How does a train driver handle this?
2021 5 min
Heart of the Nation – Tribambuka (Anastasia Beltyukova) UK
The vital role of migrants in the NHS as narrated by Michael Rosen.
2020 3 min
In Nature – Marcel Barelli, Switzerland
In nature, a couple is a male and a female. Well, not always! A couple is also a female and a female. Or a male and a male. Homosexuality isn’t just a human story.
2021 5 min
The Torture Letters – Jocie Juritz & Laurence Ralph, USA/UK
From unjustified stops of Black teenagers to a device to torment people in custody, racist police brutality runs deep.
2021 13 min
Darwin’s Notebook – Georges Schwizgebel, Switzerland
The return of three Anglicised native people to their country and the beginning of a meeting with the modern world that will destroy them.
2020 9 min
All those Sensations in my Belly – Marko Djeska, Croatia
While transitioning from male to female gender, Matia struggles to find a genuine intimate relationship with a heterosexual man.
2020 13 min
The Chimney Swift – Frédéric Schuld, Germany
19th century somewhere in Europe. A child has to climb up a chimney, a bird sails down into it and builds a nest, there is no going back for either.
2020 5 min
In the Shadow of the Pines – Anne Koizumi, Canada
Pining replaces embarrassment as one girl looks back on her experiences as a self-conscious student at the school where her Japanese immigrant father served as the janitor.
2020 8 min
Only A Child – Simone Giampaolo, Switzerland
A visual poem which gives shape and colour to the words spoken by 12 year-old Severn Suzuki at the United Nations’ Rio Summit in 1992, a child’s desperate call to action for the future of our planet.
2021 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.
