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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2017

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017

Animation

This programme is split into showcases as indicated below:

  • International Animation
  • The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1
  • The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Programme

33 films · 9 reviews

Jump to a film

The Absence of Eddy Table

Eddy gets lost in a dark forest. There he meets an alluring girl infected by a mysterious parasite.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2016; Director: Rune Spaans; Writer: Dave Cooper; Stars: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Mike Patton, Yngvill Kolset Haga, John Erik Kaada)

International Animation

Big Bag

Review preview for Big Bag

A film that is economically hilarious in the precision of its lines and humour, a wordless comic gem.

Andrew Robertson · 5 out of 5
An backpacker has a spot of bother as he prepares for a trip.

(Year: 2016; Director: Daniel Greaves; Writer: Daniel Greaves)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Chickens

Review preview for Chickens

Confident not only in establishing its rules but also in exploring them with economy and verve.

Andrew Robertson · 5 out of 5
Wondering if that glance from your crush meant something and if you will ever muster the courage to do something about it?

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: George Wu; Writer: George Wu)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Ciclope

Review preview for Ciclope

There is both strong control of craft and a simple but effective idea at work.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A drone is on a delivery mission.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Max Taylor)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Dead Horses (Cavalls morts)

A child if forced to flee war through a landscape awash with the corpses of horses.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Marc Riba, Anna Solanas; Writer: Marc Riba, Anna Solanas)

International Animation

Don't Think Of A Pink Elephant

Layla fights daily against urges and compulsions, until challenged to face her darkest fears.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Suraya Raja; Writer: Suraya Raja)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Escape From Syria: Faiza's Story

Review preview for Escape From Syria: Faiza's Story

The technique keeps the children uppermost in our minds.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Animation depicting the story of a refugee who fled Syria with her children and taking inspiration from the children's drawings.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Jack Whilding Newman; Stars: Faiza)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

A Festive Wind (Vent de fête)

A village prepares for a festival.

(Country: Switzerland, France; Year: 2016; Director: Marjolaine Perreten)

International Animation

The Full Story

Animation considering divorce.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Daisy Jacobs, Christopher Wilder; Writer: Daisy Jacobs)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

G-aaah

Review preview for G-aaah

Hobbs exploits the machine's motion - from left to right of a page - as a way of bolstering the sense of movement.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Amy Johnson worked as a typist for a firm of solicitors before her record- breaking solo flight from Croydon to Australia in 1930. This film has been created with an Underwood 315 typewriter as a celebration of her journey.

(Year: 2016; Director: Elizabeth Hobbs)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Have Heart

Review preview for Have Heart

A treat to watch.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A looping GIF has an existential crisis.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Will Anderson)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Homegrown

Francis raises his son like he cultivates his plants, shielded from harm, comfortable inside. However when the boy outgrows his father's protective confines, Francis is faced with an uncomfortable truth.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Quentin Haberham; Writer: Tim Fraser, Quentin Haberham)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

How Are You Today?

In a messed up world, two opposite characters meet.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Sophie Markatatos)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

I Am Here

A mysterious traveller goes on a journey.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2016; Director: Eoin Duffy; Writer: Eoin Duffy; Stars: Nicholas Campbell)

International Animation

Johnno's Dead

Serving twelve years behind bars for a crime you didn't commit focuses the mind. Everything becomes crystal clear. Sequel to Dad's Dead.

(Country: UK, France; Year: 2016; Director: Chris Shepherd; Stars: Ian Hart, Chris Freeney)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Life Cycles

An observational exploration of routine, monotony, attention and distraction. Will we continue to let events pass us by uncontested, or will we decide to break the cycle?

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Ross Hogg)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

A Little Grey

A colourful story about losing your spark and finding redemption.

(Country: UK, Mexico; Year: 2016; Director: Simon Hewitt, Raul Fregoso, Steve Smith; Writer: Simon Hewitt, Simon Hewitt, Stuart Royall; Stars: Richard Attlee, Tony Gardner) , Official site

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Mall 84

A love letter to the Eighties.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Gervais Merryweather)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Misshape Happenings

A peek into the carefully balanced mind of a cosmic shaman who struggles to keep his world unchanged.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Dominica Harrison)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Negative Space

The bittersweet story of a relationship between a father and his son, Sam. Always leaving on business trips, the father connects with Sam by teaching him how to pack a suitcase efficiently.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata)

International Animation

Perfect World

Animated pop video for the Katie Melua song.

(Year: 2017; Director: Karni & Saul)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Poles Apart

Review preview for Poles Apart

The textures of this film are lovely, from the grains of snow that we see blow into footprints, to the distinctive coats of the two bears, that ruffle in the wind and with movement.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Stop-motion animation about an unlikely friendship in the Arctic.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Paloma Baeza; Writer: Paloma Baeza; Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Joseph May)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Queer Heroes

Collaborative animation.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Kate Jessop)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Six God Alphabet Peter

Learning the alphabet taken to extremes.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Peter Millard)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Sore Eyes For Infinity

A trip to the optician.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2016; Director: Elli Vuorinen; Writer: Elli Vuorinen)

International Animation

Spindrift

Review preview for Spindrift

It's a simple story but well told, with excellent technique.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A young girl living by the shore faces choices after encountering an eagle and someone new.

(Year: 2016; Director: Selina Wagner; Writer: Selina Wagner) , Trailer

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 2

Tough

New light is shed on childhood cultural misunderstandings when a Chinese mother and her British born daughter speak as adults for the first time.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Jennifer Zheng)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Étude

Review preview for Étude

The idea and the shapes are simple - a cube, a circle, textured backgrounds - but the overall effect is quite meditative.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A conversation between an animator and a composer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Robert Duncan)

Full review

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Tunnel Vision

Esther is losing out on what is in the now, the current moment, in order to gain what’s in the future to come.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Lila Babington; Writer: Lila Babington; Stars: Meredith Strong, Harry Hamps)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Ugly

Animated short about kindness, respect and coexistence.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Nikita Diakur)

International Animation

Wednesday With Goddard

A personal quest for spiritual enlightenment leads to romance and despair.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Nicolas Menard; Writer: Nicolas Menard; Stars: Denis Foley, Aneta Piotrowska)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Wires (A Cyber Fairy Tale)

Animation pop promo.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Sam Healy)

The McLaren Award: New British Animation 1

Ylion And Callysia (Irion to Karishia)

After a girl is kidnapped because her father tried to catch a unicorn, her brother goes in search of her.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2017; Director: Takashi Nakamura)

International Animation