Since the dawn of cinema puppet animation has provided some of the most mesmerising films ever made and puppet animators have been among the most revered. Breathing a kind of life into inanimate puppets is a very special form of magic and this programme showcases the continuing vibrancy of this technique.
Puppet films should always look like they were handmade. The movements are not always clean, super smooth and flawless. The characters in the films should ‘feel’ real…. because they are! It is these quirks and wonderful little imperfections that make these films so special and define some of the most important elements of a puppet film.
These 9 thought-provoking, moving and downright loopy short puppet films have been made by some of the most talented independent animators in the last few years from their different bunkers around the world proving that tangible and physical stop-motion and puppet animation is alive and well and in rude health in the 21st century. Long may it prosper!
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Beautiful Men – Nicolas Keppens, Belgium/France/Netherlands
Three balding brothers travel to Istanbul to get a hair transplant. Stuck with each other in a hotel far from home, their insecurities grow faster than their hair.
2024 18’50 min
This film is not included in our online programme
Baggage – Lucy Davidson, Australia/UK
A girl’s trip with baggage!
2024 4’50 min
This film is not included in our online programme
My Organs Lying on the Ground – Shinobu Soejima, Japan
Based on a Japanese folk belief called Womb Diving (“Tainai Kuguri” ) – the cycle of life and death as depicted through insects, animals, grass, grain, and many other things in the surrounding world.
2024 11’00 min
My Jacket – Chesley Cannon, UK
Precocious middle-schooler Lilah has misplaced her jacket. The story of how she lost it will take her and her two sisters on an epic adventure across the high seas, to the bottom of the ocean, and even out of this world.
2024 5’25 min
Humantis – Paris Baillie, USA
Humantises are masters of deception. But can they hide from change? When one Humantis unexpectedly goes through a physical transformation, it struggles to adapt and grow into its new self.
2024 9’15 min
Underground – Yiannis Christoforou, Greece
The last shovelful plunges the shot into darkness. A stop motion film that seems to be talking about death, yet does the exact opposite.
2024 7’20 min
Hot Mess – Tortor Smith, UK
A voice message triggers all sorts of anxieties in Andro, but will they be pressured into trying to change their ways?
2024 3’10 min
Adios – José Prats, UK
Out hunting one day in rural Spain, a father struggles to accept that his adult son is moving abroad and is dealing with feelings of being left alone.
2024 8’35 min
Tennis, Oranges – Sean Pecknold, USA
A robotic vacuum cleaner suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.
2024 10’50 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 Puppet Theatre Barge is a unique, fifty-seat marionette theatre on a converted barge based in London. The theatre presents puppet shows for children and adults and is moored in Abingdon-on-Thames, Little Venice and Richmond-upon-Thames throughout the year find out more.
Online, Puppet Theatre Barge
