East and West

More good news for my latest film Speed, it will be part of the Official Selection for next month's Tokyo Anime Award Festival. The event looks absolutely spectacular and it burns a little that I won't be able to head over to Japan and enjoy it in person but as ever I'm enormously grateful to be involved at all.

Speed will be part of the Short Animation Competition Slot 3 alongside some absolute belters including Osman Cerfon's I'm Going Out For Cigarettes, Sarah Van Den Boom's Raymonde or the Vertical Escape and Michael Frei's Kids. Other films festivalgoers should keep an eye out for are Daria Kashcheeva's Daughter, Regina Pessoa's Uncle Thomas: Accounting For The Days and Ivan Rabbiosi's Iron Me. 

Slot 3 will be screening at 12:15pm March 13th and 5:20pm the following day at Shin-Bungeiza. 

It's also worth mentioning that this coming weekend my previous film Sunscapades will be getting probably its final major festival screening at the Anima Brussels Animation Film Festival. Following the announcement of its inclusion in the Official Selection back in December I now know it will be part of the Animated Night marathon screening that kicks off 9:30pm on Saturday 29th and wraps up in the wee hours of the 1st. Sunscapades will be playing fairly late in the programme so bring along whatever stimulants best keep you from nodding off.

It's looking like an absolute corker of a festival and you can swing by Skwigly to check out some of the programme highlights, special guests and industry days on offer. Laura-Beth and I will also be there from the 26th so pop over and say hello if you spot us.

Nothin' But Love

I'm extremely happy to say that the latest Official Selection for Speed will be at the Cardiff Animation Festival, which returns for its second edition this April. The first edition was absolutely tremendous and immediately cemented it as an absolute favourite so it's fantastic to see it continue and even more so to be involved. The film is in grand company too as they've also selected some absolute crackers including Laura-Beth's new film The Gift, to which I contributed some bits and bobs. Although I don't yet know the exact dates/times, The Gift will be part of Shorts 2: Body with Speed in Shorts 3: Heart. Check out their website for updates as they come and hopefully see some of you there!

In the latest episode of our podcast Intimate Animation we meet UK-based director/animator Elizabeth Hobbs, whose 2018 short film I’m OK, produced with the National Film Board of Canada and Animate Projects, explores the passionate and tempestuous love affair between Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka and his lover Alma Mahler.
On top of a BAFTA nomination in 2019, the film has screened at such major festivals as Clermont Ferrand, Annecy, OIAF, LIAF and EIFF and is presently in contention for the British Animation Awards Public Choice alongside her more recent work The Flounder, created for The Happiness Machine project.
Also discussed in this episode: Alternative approaches to animation education, Oscar contenders and love-themed films to look out for during both the British Animation Awards Public Choice screenings and the upcoming Anima Festival in Brussels. Stream above or direct download here.

On the subject of interviews with fantastic animation wimmins, you might want to check out a Q&A with Joanna Hepworth, who's been working up the road from me this past year or so as one of the main Animation Directors on Love Monster, a new series for CBeebies adapted from the books series by Rachel Bright. Give it a read for some insight into the unique production approach (the animation is being simultaneously produced in London at Karrot and Bristol's A Productions), working in CelAction and how the show aims to engage its audience. Having known Jo since I started in animation way back when, it's been a uniquely wonderful and inspiring thing watching her work go from strength to strength over the years and I'm certain even bigger things are yet to come. Be sure to check out the show on BBC iPlayer.

Knockin' About

The British Animation Awards Public Choice screenings are continuing over the next few weeks and, following an encouraging response to the first handful of January screenings, here's where you'll be able to catch my new film Speed (nestled in amongst Programme 2) in February:

• February 5th, 5pm - Arts University Bournemouth
• February 5th, 3pm - University of Derby/MS125
• February 6th, 6:30pm - Teesside University/Animex/The Crypt
• February 7th - Nottingham Trent University
• February 10th, 2pm - University of Westminster, London
• February 11th, 6:30pm - Regent Cinema, London
• February 11th, 7pm - The Mockingbird Cinema, Birmingham
• February 12th, 1:30pm - Norwich University of the Arts
• February 16th, 6:20pm - HOME, Manchester

 

On the heels of its premiere last month I'm also happy to say that things are starting to percolate on the festivals front. There are a few events coming up but right now the only one I can announce is the Canterbury Anifest that takes place February 29th to March 1st. This is the first time anything I've done has been involved in this particular festival (although Boris-Noris did screen there a little while back) so it's lovely news indeed. Speed will play in the Shortlist Screening 2 on Sunday March 1st at noon in the Main Hall of Augustine House.