How far will you go and what will you do in order to achieve your dreams? Disrupting The Narrative: When Worlds Collide takes viewers on unexpected journeys across London, Libya, South Africa and beyond into personal histories and deep into emotional landscapes of the heart. Documentary and avant garde experiments collide with innovative C.G. stop motion and hand drawn animation techniques to explore coming of age stories about people, places, gentrification, migration and the beauty of bodies in motion. The programme exposes secret desires, hidden motives, envy and birth rights beneath layers of blood, collage, drawings, paintings and pixels in the form of fabricated fictions, fables of sisterhood, joy, atrocity and cannibalism. Personal and political narratives are investigated beneath the microscopic eye of 10 animation directors with urgent tales to tell through metaphors and visual poems that bring ideas to life and add meaning to human stories in fresh ways.
Disrupting The Narrative: When Worlds Collide was co-curated with Osbert Parker – BAFTA and Emmy nominated Director and Ambassador for FLAMIN at Film London.
Closed captioning will be available for this programme at the Barbican.
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Chair: Osbert Parker
Three times BAFTA nominated and award winning filmmaker Osbert Parker is perhaps best known for creating stories that use experimental and innovative film techniques. They often combine photo cut-out animation with objects and live action to create one-of-a-kind imaginary landscapes in mixed media short films, commercials, TV entertainment and online content. Emmy nominated in 2022 for Outstanding Main Title Design on Lisey’s Story, his independent short animated films continue to receive acclaim on the international film festival circuit. Film Noir was nominated for best short animated film by BAFTA and won a Palme d’Or nomination at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. Yours Truly was the best short animated film winner at the British Animation Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2008 and selected for Sundance. With 35 years experience of working in the creative industries, Osbert balances his freelance work with delivering masterclasses, seminars and running international animation workshops. Committed to helping new generations of filmmakers, Osbert is a Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a regular visiting animation lecturer at The National Film & Television School.
Izzy Aghahowa
Izzy Aghahowa is a Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and creative currently based in London. They primarily make Film and TV posters through various mediums including oil paints and pastels, digital illustration and graphic design. They also make surreal and experimental original artwork and now they are beginning to create animations. They started their creative career through making oil-painted movie posters during COVID in 2020 and have since then expanded their craft into filmmaking.
Mary Martins
Mary Martins is a British-Nigerian animator from London. Her animations work across the genres of documentary and 16mm experimental film, often combining the two to produce multi-layered and mixed media documentaries that focus on socially engaged themes. She has worked with communities in Nigeria, Brazil and the UK, using animation to represent the lived experiences and stories of those from underrepresented groups.
Erica Russell
Erica Russell was born in New Zealand, brought up in South Africa and later moved to London. At the beginning of her career she worked for Richard Williams Animation, producers of Roger Rabbit, and was a special assistant to the pioneering Disney animator, Art Babbit. During the ‘80s she worked for the innovative studio of Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, the creators of Max Headroom. There, she was a designer and animator of TV titles and music promos. She later set up her own studio called Eyeworks that made various commercials and music videos. She also made her first film, the award-winning Feet of Song, for Channel 4 TV. A second film for Channel 4 Triangle was completed and nominated for an Oscar in ’95. The last of her trilogy of dance films for Channel 4, was SOMA, inspired by graffiti art. Her company has produced and contributed to numerous music videos, TV title sequences and commercials, for Europe and the USA. Most recently, Erica has animated two short films on forced marriage and human trafficking and has completed a collaboration with her daughter on womens’ orgasms for the New York Times.
The Voice in the Hollow – Miguel Ortega & Tran Ma, USA
Departing – Mary Martins, UK
Connection and belonging come to the fore in this poignant documentary exploring the impact of the immigration laws and deportation on communities in the UK.
2024 7’35 min
Windrush – Jess Stephens, UK
Filling in the gaps from a lack of photographs or videos from their mother’s childhood, the filmmaker tells the moving story of migration from Barbados to the UK and life in the diaspora.
2022 3’00 min
Start with a Place – Gisela Mulindwa, UK
Using archival sound from the 1960s to 1980s and collaged photos, Start with a Place reveals how decades of gentrification has transformed areas of south London beyond recognition exposing the deep roots of a crisis that is continuing to price local people out of the capital.
2024 5’35 min
High Street Repeat – Osbert Parker & Laurie Hill, UK
The story of migration and enterprise, told through the changing face of Britain’s high street. This playful combination of stop motion with digital techniques and manipulation of photographic cut-outs creates a continuous transition between the past and present.
2023 4’25 min
Cherry Teeth – Izzy Aghahowa, UK
The city re-imagined as a turbulent crime-ridden metropolis where cannibalism is a part of day-to-day life. Set to a jazzy noir-infused soundtrack and with bold, intense visuals three characters’ lives intertwine and unfold in challenging ways.
2024 9’40 min
Feet of Song – Erica Russell, UK
A near-abstract exploration of colour and rhythm depicted through fleeting impressions of dancers’ bodies. Joyful, androgynous forms shimmy across the screen to the sound of upbeat African music.
1988 5’30 min
Liminal Roots – Aliyah Harfoot, UK
From childhood to adolescence, a journey through the memories of a young girl struggling to come to terms with the complexity of her mixed-raced identity.
2024 4’20 min
The Meatseller – Margherita Giusti, Italy
A young Nigerian woman with aspirations of following in her mother’s footsteps as a butcher, sets out on her journey to Italy in pursuit of her ambition, a journey fraught with horror and bestiality.
2023 17’15 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
The Barbican is Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and education events. For more information about The Barbican and how to get there, find out more.
Barbican, Online
