The London International Animation Festival

The London International Animation Festival (LIAF 2011) hits the screen with 10 days of the best new animation combined with diverse collection of themed, retrospective and special programmes. From August 26 – September 4 at the Barbican, the Horse Hospital and the Rio Cinema, LIAF will undoubtedly become the centre of the international animation universe. You’ll see a comprehensive line-up from award winners, outstanding industry veterans, inspiring independents, stupendous studios and those wonderful newcomers exploring their talent on screen for the very first time.

LIAF is the UK’s largest festival of its kind, bringing the best new animated films from every corner of the world to London audiences, and showcasing the whole spectrum of creative animation. This year the Festival features 280 films from over 30 countries, most of them British premieres, divided into 8 competition programmes, plus a series of satellite events.

Full programme available at www.liaf.org.uk

International Panorama Programmes

Friday 2 Sept, 7pm £10 for 3 sessions (£7 concessions).

Tickets here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/128146

The Panoramas are a great chance for us to show films that didn’t make it into competition for one reason or another – maybe they arrived late, maybe they just couldn’t pull off a consensus with the jury or maybe whoever has their hands on the levers around here just thought they should screen regardless of what the jury said.

25 films spread out over 3 bite-size, friendly, 45-minute sessions. Just £10 for the lot (£7 concessions).

International Panorama 1

Perspective Monika Rohner Switzerland, 4'06, 2010 Following the moon to escape the concrete jungle, a girl sends her imaginary alter ego into a fantastically coloured land with no shadows.

Luis Cristobal Leon, Niles Atallah, Joaquin Cocina Chile, 3’50, 2009 Luis talks about his life in the forest and his relationship with Lucía as charcoal, dirt, flowers, found objects and cardboard shift around him to create a scary and perplexing mess.

City Trip Gerben Aqterberg, Jasper Bos, Emma Hazenak, Daniel Oliveira Prins Holland, 6'00, 2010 An eleven person ‘anijam’ par excellence. 11 animators working in relay with nothing but a soundtrack and the last frame from the animator before them to explore the theme ‘city trip’.

And If Sandra Santos Portugal, 7’00, 2010 Two hesitant human beings work in an office. What if they should meet?

This Is Love Lei Lei China, 3'00, 2010 Prolific, high-energy Chinese animator Lei Lei returns with a high-speed, high-impact, brightly coloured exposé on the intricacies of love.

The Polish Language Alice Lyons, Orla McHardy Ireland, 8’00, 2010 A playful and solemn film-poem dealing with the sensuality, beauty and power of language.

My Childhood Mystery Tree Natalia Mirzoyan Russia, 10’20, 2010 A small boy searches for his teddy bear and discovers a place of lost childhood dreams.

R-XYZ Joana Toste Portugal, 4'00, 2010 A short, colourful search for the real origins of life's pathologies.

International Panorama 2 // Friday 2 Sept Time: 8pm

The Death of an Insect Hannes Vartiainen, Pekka Veikkolainen Finland, 7’00, 2011 A tragic story constructed by using dead insects gathered from forgotten attics and tool sheds, between window panels and cobwebs.

How Your Money Works Musclebeaver Germany, 3’45, 2010 How do you think your money works for you? Let Musclebeaver tell you.

Malban Elodie Boudec France, 9’00, 2009 A girl, Claude, is on holiday with her mother and brother in their house near the sea. One night, the sudden visit of an unknown man confronts Claude….

Sorry Film Not Ready Janet Perlman Canada, 1'00, 2010 A dramatic interplay between an ear of corn, a space monster, a hammer and a platypus made by accident while creating experimental animation invisible to the naked eye.

Pivot Andre Bergs The Netherlands, 5’00, 2010 When a man is witness to a murder and takes pictures of the killer, he has to run for his life in this ultra-stylish thriller.

Yonder Emilia Forstreuter Germany, 3’20, 2010 An alternate world of seemingly basic shapes, cells and organisms that seem foreign yet at the same time familiar.

Once Only Nuno Amorim Portugal, 5'40, 2010 If all this were not a lie, if I were awake when I went there, I wouldn't have to learn everything again, every single day.

Love Patate Gilles Curelier France, 14’00, 2010 Some french fries, a love triangle, a potato with a scar, a huge nose, the North of France and a bunny...

International Panorama 3 // Friday 2 Sept Time: 9pm

Journey to the Sunflower Field Alexandre Sigueira France, 4’15, 2011 Nicolas, a five-year-old child, is victim of an accident when playing with his kite.

Counting Sheep Neely Goniodsky Canada, 7’00, 2011 A man escapes the everyday, in order to chase a fleeting dream. Whenever he approaches it, it retreats, remaining forever a step away.

Lucia Cristobal Leon, Niles Atallah, Joaquin Cocina Chile, 3’50, 2009 Lucía remembers the summer in which she fell in love with Luis. Poor, sweet Lucia.

Swimming Pool Alexandra Hetmerova Czech Republic, 6'34, 2010 A sweet tale of night swimming, water ballet and rule breaking.

Construction Mira Mizui Japan, 3’15, 2010 The latest example of Mizui’s intense, rhythmical, almost overwhelming abstractions.

Dog Walking Ground Leonid Shmelkov Russia, 8’00, 2010 An automated pooper scooper observes the habits of dog walkers and their dogs.

Jumping Puddles Scott Peters USA, 2'00, 2010 Two narratives merge to create a third – a young boy rides his bike through the early morning air to cross paths with a freight train as the audio delivers a story of warfare in a distant jungle.

The Play of Silence Virginia Mori Italy, 3’30, 2010 A girl is playing alone, she loses, she hides and tries to be re-born.

Noises Thibault Petrissans France, 4'09, 2009 Why are all the noises of the world found in the house of just one man?

Music Video Session

Sat 3 Sept 8pm £10 for both sessions (£7 concessions)

Tickets here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/128147

Animation is an integral element in many of the best music videos. Producing them also provides a credible, often commercially viable way for animators to earn a living from their skills and still produce work they can be proud of.

Here are 21 of the world’s best and most innovative music videos produced in the last 12 months in a special 90-minute programme providing a visual mash-up of styles, techniques and genres.

Gnarls Barkley “Who’s Gonna’ save your soul?” Director: Chris Milk

Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” Director: Chris Hemming

Wax Tailor “I Own You” Director: Romain Chaissang

Cornershop “What Did the Hippie Have in His Bag?” Director: Rude

All India Radio “Lucky” Director: Darcy Prendergast

Gorillaz “On Melancholy Hill” Directors: Pete Candeland/Jamie Hewlett/Rob Valley

Holy Fuck “Red Lights” Directors: Brian Borcherdt & Michael LeBlanc

Stereolab “Neon Beanbag” Director: Julian House.

TV on the Radio “Me I” Director: Mixtape Club

Gigi D'Agostino “Bla Bla Bla” Director: Andreas Hykade

Memory Tapes “Yes I know” Director: Eric Epstein

Chad VanGaalen “Peace on the Rise” Director: Chad VanGaalen

Toru Matsumoto “And And” Director: Mirai Mizui

Goldfish “We Come Together” Director: Mike Scott

Cornershop “Non Stop Radio” Director: Vidya Sharma and Rajesh Thomas

Van She “Van She” Director: Daihei Shibata

J.Mascis “Not Enough” Director: Chad Van Gaalen

Subtle “The Mercury Craze” Directors: Yu Sato and Marc Reisbig

Renaud Hallee “Sonar” Director: Renaud Hallee

Cassette Schwarzenegger “Play” Director: Studio Shelter

Themselves “Roman is as Roman does” Director: Yu Sato

Late Night Bizarre // Sat 3 Sept 10pm

LIAF’s annual, ever popular, irresistible, train-wreck of a programme – you wanna turn away but you know you can’t. Expect insane prison inmates, robust insect loving, an experiment involving a long spike and an ass … well, you get the picture. There’s a lot more, but these were the only plots we could publish.

Arts And Crafts Spectacular #1 Sebastien Wolf, Ian Ritterskamp Germany, 1'12, 2010 A short, sharp, beautifully raucous debunking of everything you’ve ever heard about the countryside – and some of the gentle folk who live there.

Hello Dad Christoph Simon UK, 1'38, 1987 Hello Dad, I'm in jail. Say hi to Mum, from jail. I like it here, I'm in jail. Hahahahahaha - ha.

Condensed Night Laurie Proud UK, 2'00, 1999 A scabrous display of the odd relationship between a window gimp, a pretty schoolgirl and an oozing, giant beetle-thing.

Thesis Tomasz Cechowski, Grzegorz Paluch Poland, 1'24, 2009 The professor has a theory. OK. To prove this theory he needs a spike and an ass. So, you take the spike and then you put it…

Meat Or Die (Yans!Gans!) / Meat05: Linda Tai Murayama Japan, 1'45, 2010 Some insane little jabberers (one with a bladder problem) try to bite off more than they can chew when they flip the shopping switch to ‘brontosaurus’.

Dukes Of Broxstonia: Wash Day Suren Perera Australia, 0'45, 2010 The Dukes are Back! And they're dirty – very dirty! It's time to clean up their act and maybe burn some clothes.

Python In Wonderland

Piotr Hoang Ngoc Poland, 6'20, 2010 A detailed psychedelic exploration of male nipples, special rabbits, Can-Can dancers’ legs and boxing.

Weenie Wagon Woe Willy Ashworth Canada, 3'36, 2010 Spurt, our 'everyday-man' hero has one passion in his life – he was born to drive his weenie wagon.

Travis Daniel Rowe USA, 4'15, 2010 Travis is a dangerous, disturbed and disturbing young man on a mission.

Green Money Weed Connection: "Got Milk" Logan Hugueny-Clark USA, 1'34, 2011 Bunkfunk MC and Lil' Joint are practicin' what they're preachin'. And they're preachin' it pretty damn hard.

Nasty Habits: Bono Layla Atkinson UK, 3'00, 2010 When bad nuns get worse, not even Bono is sacred.

Serenade Lee Han Bit South Korea, 10'00, 2010 The city at night can harbour some strange hybrid creatures who stride, crawl, fly and creep through the streets, propelled by odd desires and decaying memories.

Jean-Luc Arthur Peltzer, Fabien Guillaume, Jean-Baptiste Maligne, Jeremy Macedo, Julien Daubas, Paul Nivet, Ugo Bienvenu France, 2'50, 2010 Medical emergency meets sexual urgency in this crazed romp about CPR gone wrong.

Mr Choco In Love Petr Marek Czech Republic, 5'56, 2011 Mr Choco may well be in love but he sure has a funny way of showing it.

About A Cat Daan Cools Belgium, 3'10, 2010 Some cats are just hideous, conniving, murderous, soulless, pitiless little bastards.

The Dance Of Death Director: Johan Pollefoort France/Belgium, 8'00, 2010 Death – the great equaliser. A swirling journey through the macabre dance of death and the passage from one life to another.