Disrupting the Narrative aims to be an animated antidote to sanitised and risk averse films. This year’s films are no different, inviting viewers to dive deep into complex, authentic themes like emotional and psychological abuse, dark comedy, metaphysical horror to ‘move beyond fear and start living’. Narrative and non-narrative experimental animation sit side by side as we see the world through the lens of 10 Global Majority filmmakers that use compelling narratives and a diverse range of animation techniques to explore the body, sexual identity, memory, true lies, fears of the unknown and what it takes to make meaningful connections when you’re an outsider.
Fears, Freedom and friendships in unlikely places takes viewers on animated adventures across the UK, Ghana, India, Brazil, Iran, Iceland, Colombia and Canada.
Disrupting The Narrative was co-curated with Osbert Parker – BAFTA and Emmy nominated Director.
There will be a panel discussion after the screening with some of the filmmakers whose films are screening – panel members will be announced soon.
His Lens – Jess Stephens, UK
A poetic exploration of misogyny within the film industry, imagining creative freedom beyond oppressive power structures. Based on a text by the filmmaker’s sister, Rebecca Stephens.
2026 3’10 min
To our Future Ancestors – Bogdan Anifrani-Fedach, Ian Keteku, Canada
A woman travels through time and memory, from savannahs to the cosmos, searching for a mysterious egg that will reveal her future. Along the way, she draws strength from the blood memory of her ancestors. A moving allegory about lineage and enduring resilience across millennia.
2026 6’00 min
Hold it Together – Fan Sissoko, Iceland, France, Belgium
On her weekly trips to the swimming pool, Neema, a young immigrant to Iceland, stands out so much that she melts into a puddle. As she strives to stay solid, she realises that she is not the only one struggling with loneliness and grief.
2026 12’00 min
Once in a Body – Maria Cristina Perez Gonzalez, Colombia
While dealing with a strange being that lives inside her, a woman seeks to reconcile with her sister over an incident from their adolescence. By exploring the experiences they share through their bodies, she manages to confront the nature of what inhabits her.
2025 10’20 min
Tar – Fariba Farzanfar, Germany, Iran
An experimental under-the-camera film crafted with real strands of hair. In Persian, the word tar carries a dual meaning: both a strand of hair and a traditional Iranian string instrument. Within this symbolic interplay, a centipede crawls into an artist’s ear and enters the landscape of her mind.
2026 5’00 min
That Night – Hoda Sobhani, Iran, USA
One woman’s powerful account of surviving a fire in Tehran’s Evin prison captures resistance; an urgent, creative act rooted in the Iranian Woman! Life! Freedom! movement.
2025 10’55 min
Decay – Juan Camilo González, Colombia
I am grateful to the Chinese for the invention of gunpowder – it feels as if they made it for me. Its discovery happened by accident, originally conceived as a way to ward off evil spirits. This film begins in China, then moves to an event in Cartagena and ends centuries later in Bogotá.
2026 7’05 min
Dawn at Terezinha Building – Cesar Cabral, Renato José Duque, Brazil
It’s late night in São Paulo. Álvaro takes on a job caring for a terminal patient – but death seeps through the rooms of the mysterious old building.
2026 11’10 min
I was Kidnapped – Dhananjay Barangule, UK
As Dhananjay recounts a funny story from his childhood in Mumbai, he begins to realise how it affected his mum.
2026 6’55 min
Macpherson – Martine Chartrand, Canada
A portrait of the friendship between a young Félix Leclerc and Frank Randolph Macpherson, a Jamaican chemical engineer, university graduate and devoted jazz fan. Their friendship would inspire Leclerc to write “MacPherson,” a song celebrating the log drives and honouring his friend.
2012 10’55 min
Our Funding Partners
With Special Thanks to The Elf Factory, official sponsor of LIAF 2026.
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
