Like childhood, animation is full of wonder and simple pleasures. This carefully chosen programme for our littlest and most special audience contains 14 of the best, most recent wonderful short animated films, full of joy, from all around the world. There’ll be talking animals, seriously fun adventures and wondrous tales to spark those little imaginations.
This programme contains several cheeky, loveable humans and animals in all sorts of mad, lively adventures. A mischievous little penguin, baby birds attempting to fly, a cat who loves art and a hedgehog who gets into a bit of bother when one of his spines goes missing, All of this and more.
Adults can only come if they’re bringing a child, and children can only come along if accompanied by an adult.
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A Clayful Adventure – Florrie Macleod, UK
Discarded Clay takes on Smug Ceramic with shocking consequences. Can they learn to understand and accept one another?
2025 3’55 min
Mildred the Gallery Cat – Jono Ganz & Tate Kids, UK
Everyone thinks Mildred is the laziest cat in the world – but when the gallery closes for the day, Mildred actually explores the empty galleries and imagines her life as an artist.
2024 5’40 min
First Flight – Adrian Jaffé, Germany
Three baby birds, one big challenge – their first flight! But as the frogs begin their peculiar performance, the sky turns into a whirlwind of improvisation – some birds twirl, some hover, and others just hope for the best.
2025 3’15 min
Poong – Laurent Rohrbasser, Robin Szymczak & Vinh Nguyen, Switzerland
The unexpected adventure of a simple ping-pong ball after a missed shot.
2024 2’05 min
Snip Snap – Douglas Irvine & Eleanor Stewart, UK
When a little girl’s pair of scissors turns into an enormous crocodile, a world filled with imagination and adventure unfolds.
2025 8’00 min
A Pain in the Butt – Elena Walf, Germany
The hedgehog is just about to go into hibernation when he notices that one of his spines is missing. It’s stuck in Lena’s dog’s bottom, of all places. Getting it back won’t be easy…
2025 5’40 min
Books are Made of Trees – Julianna Jakubowska, Denmark
In the face of danger looming over the Old Oak and its inhabitants, a grumpy librarian Leon refuses to leave the tree and his beloved book collection behind.
2025 6’10 min
Time – Robert Löbel & Max Mörtl, Germany
A dystopian and darkly whimsical animated short, unfolding in fragmented vignettes where characters collide – each caught in their own rhythm of time.
2025 5’40 min
On the Mat Outside My Door – Antje Heyn, Germany
An oversized, cheeky rat has moved in with our protagonist. She whistles along with the radio, sits in the fridge and is simply everywhere – loud, pesky, full of life. When she suddenly disappears, he realizes: it’s never been this quiet – or this empty.
2025 4’40 min
My Shadow and Me – Yali Herbet, Israel
During a family trip to the beach, 5-year-old Ido, feeling overlooked and restless, discovers an enchanting friend when his shadow unexpectedly springs to life.
2024 3’50 min
Bobel’s Kitchen – Fiona Rolland, Belgium
Bobel, a poisonous little mushroom, dreams of becoming a cook at his village market. But the villagers’ prejudice will make his task difficult.
2024 10’25 min
Polka – Dmitry Shostakovich – Tatyana Musalyamova, Russian Federation
A Russian folk dance with acrobatic, jumping frogs.
2024 2’00 min
Monster – Eric Giessmann & Piers Goffart, Germany
A monster, desperate to fit in among humans, hides behind a human disguise but is forced to confront the truth about himself when a visit to an indoor pool leads to a dramatic unravelling of his identity.
2024 4’50 min
The Naughty Seat – David Johnson, UK
A mischievous little penguin, misbehaving at the dinner table, is sent off to the naughty seat and it’s not long before he has company!
2025 7’15 min
Our Funding Partners
With Special Thanks to The Elf Factory, official sponsor of LIAF 2025.
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
