What goes through your mind when you are stuck in the city, on the cusp of adulthood, feeling charged with desire and anger? How do you come to terms with the notion of being a slave to work – do you just drop out of society altogether? What happens when you want to speak but physically can’t? We are all looking for answers. Some of us are staring at the stars. This is a collection of questioning, diverse, funny, moving and heartfelt stories explored in this fascinating bunch of shorts.
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 86 new films from 41 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.
Now That I’m Thinking – David Gelfand, USA
Feeling lost in his day-to-day existence, Red has trouble making a decision that could potentially change his life.
2023 8’15 min
Slower Animals – John Christopher Kelley, USA
While aimlessly following a winter goose migration across the American south, a professor slips in and out of childhood memories that all surround a forgotten trauma.
2022 7’00 min
Ana Morphose – Joao Rodrigues, Portugal
A little girl reads herself to sleep. As she dozes off, the physical world starts melting into an alternate reality where the contents of a book rule over the laws of physics.
2023 9’45 min
Whatever Moves is Alive – Noémie Marsily, Belgium
While slugs wander across the kitchen floor, Noémie draws up her self-portrait, shifting and fragmented, on the edge between the intimate and the hubbub of the world.
2022 11’00 min
Gregor Mendel and the Secret of Peas – David Súkup & Vendula Chalánková, Czech Republic
How ordinary pea plants helped unravel the laws of genetics and how their discoverer, the Moravian scientist Gregor Mendel, almost fell into oblivion.
2023 3’25 min
Via Dolorosa – Rachel Gutgarts, France
Between drug addiction, first discoveries of sexuality and a permanent state of war, the filmmaker searches for her lost youth by wandering the streets of Jerusalem.
2023 10’30 min
Worlds Apart – Emily Downe, UK
How do we consider the debate around religion vs science without resorting to conflict?
2023 3’00min
Beautiful Figures – Soetkin Verstegen, Belgium
Thoughts ripple over the pages of a personal notebook, kept during a stay at different science labs in Zürich. They float from one to another, like a mind map of unfinished ideas on memory, medical imaging, cells, and ageing.
2022 4’00 min
Money and Happiness – Ana Nedeljković & Nikola Majdak Jr, Serbia/Slovenia/Slovakia
The hamsters live and work in Hamsterland, a perfect state with a perfect economy. The GDP grows steadily, there is no unemployment, and 100% of the population declare themselves to be happy.
2022 9’50 min
Aphasia – Marielle Dalpé, Canada
A deeply moving foray into the heart of aphasia—a devastating neurocognitive condition that progressively destroys the ability to speak and understand words, afflicting many people with Alzheimer’s disease.
2023 3’45 min
This film is not included in our online programme
By Water – Iyabo Kwayana, USA
An unlikely hero’s journey into his own memories becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and healing for himself and his sibling.
2022 12’00 min
11 – Vuk Jevremovic, Croatia
Three masters of football. They can perform wonders during the match and score impossible goals, but what goes on in their heads when they are about to take penalty kicks?
2022 5’30 min
Our Funding Partners
With Special Thanks to the Arts Council England
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.
Venue
Opened in March 2022, The Garden Cinema screens repertory seasons and new releases from around the world. Being truly independent, they choose films that are worth seeing, films you’d be happy to see more than once. Films of all genres that are true to life, well made, that left us feeling better or wiser for having seen them. For more information about The Garden Cinema and how to get there, find out more.
Online, The Garden Cinema
