PPP- Manchester Animation Festival 2016 Highlights

From the 15th-17th November I attended Manchester Animation Festival for the second year in a row. The festival, held at HOME in Manchester's First Street Complex, takes place over three days, showcasing some new upcoming feature films, graduation films and short films as well as hosting retrospective screenings, masterclasses with industry professionals and workshops. Here are some of my favourite films which were shown at the Festival...

My Life As A Courgette

My Life As A Courgette is a French/Swiss Stop Motion film (adapted from a Giles Paris novel of the same name) revolving around a group of misfit children and their interpersonal drama at an awkward stage of their Adolescence. The writing and overall tone of the film reminded me of a Charlie Kaufman script, with a perfect balance of dark comedy and genuinely touching human drama. The design of the characters and visually striking approach to direction also stood out to me; it's very clear that director Claude Barras connects personally with the source material in some way. I also really appreciated the ways in which the design of characters hinted at their backstories in a way which wasn't too on the nose or spelled out for the audience in an unsubtle way. This was a dark, funny and mature approach of the subject matter and probably my favourite film at the festival.

The Red Turtle

The Red Turtle was another premier of an upcoming feature film developed in collaboration between Studio Ghibli and Wild Bunch. The film tells a primarily visual story with very little dialogue for the duration or it's runtime, but the visuals speak volumes in terms of environmental and visual storytelling. Backgrounds are masterfully detailed and character animation is expertly realised, conveying distinctive character traits and emotions through gesture and facial cues incredibly well. While I did feel the film meandered a little in the middle and the obtuse (and very allergorical) nature of the storytelling isn't for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed the The Red Turtle as a shining example of visual storytelling.

Phantom Boy

Phantom Boy was a bit of a pleasant surprise, as I was initially turned off by the art style, particularly the character design. However I found the storytelling to be touchingly human and surprisingly heavy hitting. I also grew to appreciate the polished art style more as the film went on and by the end was immersed in the story enough to recommend.

Jonas and the Sea

Jonas and the sea is an example of limited animation done right. The art is dense with textural detail, the storytelling tight and audio-visually oriented. While the story itself may not be particularly something to write home about I was engaged enough by the craft on display in constructing these 2D rigged character to look more into the production and make sure the director behind it remains on my radar.

Birdz