At The Garden Cinema SOLD OUT
Online tickets still available here

Some films need extra time to develop their themes, to grow and draw us more comprehensively into their worlds. It takes time to think. Reflection tends to work best at a slower tempo. This competition programme is dedicated to showcasing the best of these longer films. 7 longer short films, 7 thoughtful and complex stories including the latest masterworks from returning LIAF favourites Atsushi Wada, Joseph Wallace and Sean Buckelew.
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 87 new films from 30 countries around 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. 8 international competition programmes. Every technique, every genre, every style – this is your annual window into the international indie animation universe.
Bird in the Peninsula – Atsushi Wada, Japan

Drone – Sean Buckelew, USA

After a malfunction at a CIA press event, a drone becomes sentient, taking on emotions it doesn’t quite understand yet.
2022 15’00
Letter to a Pig – Tal Kantor, Israel

A traumatic memory from a Holocaust survivor takes a young schoolgirl on an inner journey.
2022 16’40
Salvation Has No Name – Joseph Wallace, UK

A group performs a story about a Priest and a refugee but as their misguided tale unfolds, the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to fray.
2022 16’45
Ice Merchants – João Gonzalez, Portugal

Every day, a father and his son jump from their cold house, attached to a cliff, to sell the ice they produce daily.
2022 14’30
Once There was a Sea… Joanna Kozuch, Slovakia/Poland

Once upon a time there was a sea… Aral Sea. The sea that has vanished. And along with the sea, seaside life and work disappeared. The inhabitants living on the dry shore for years are dreaming of high water and longing to sail at least once again.
2021 16’35
Sierra – Sander Joon, Estonia

A surreal car race where a father and his son are losing. To win, the boy turns himself into a car tyre.
2022 15’55
Our Funding Partner

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.