A celebratory showcase of some of the year’s best and brightest animated shorts. If you’re looking to sample the animation ecosystem in all its multicoloured, variously-shaped glories, there’s no better place to begin.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2019
Animation NOW! International Showcase
| Aug 09 | |
The animation-verse continues to thrive, folks. Great work pours forth from some of the most creative minds on the planet. And the very first step to creating a superb piece of animation is an act of the imagination, because in animation if you can imagine it, you can show it.
This year we evaluated almost 4,000 submissions for the Animation NOW! line-up. Themes emerge, styles begin to coalesce and sub-genres gradually reveal themselves. We try to massage it all into individual programmes that offer threads of commonality to help you navigate this colourful forest of plenty.
And when all of that is said and done, there is always a cluster of wonderful sparkling gems that defy every attempt at categorisation. Blessed with some of the finest animation we’ve seen in some time – Fest, the latest eye-popper from ‘glitch’ animation master Nikita Diakur; Peter Zhaoyu Zhou’s experimental motion capture film Last Dance, which reimagines China’s traditional Peking Opera artform; and the gorgeous colour pencil-drawn Per tutta la vita, to name just three – our annual International Showcase is where we happily corral the very best of them.
I’m OK 2018
Expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka enlists in WWI after the end of a love affair.
Out of Touch 2018
In the endless search for a way out, how do we know what is worth listening out for?
Fest 2018
The latest from the master of ‘glitch’ animation revels in the fearless sub-culture of extreme urban exploration.
Last Dance 2018
An extraordinary navigation of the nuances of ancient Chinese dance via ultra-fluid CGI.
Embraced 2018
Standing still in front of the open window, a woman stares at the dark clouds that obscure the sky.
Circuit 2018
The existential poetry of a unique ecosystem can only be maintained if everyone plays their role.
At First Sight 2018
The politics are always dirtiest when the stakes are low.
Arena 2018
A stunning, birds-eye view of a self-animating planet.
Trumpet-Trompette 2018
A smooth, stylish meditation on preparing to do something you love.
Electrician’s Day 2018
It all started with a power outage at a psychiatric clinic…
About a Woman Who Wanted to Fly Away 2018
This masterpiece of mayhem and montage is a distinctly Russian take on ‘transhumanism’.
Nebula 2018
An intricate work that walks the tightrope between film as a record of reality and an abstract visualisation of sound.
Per tutta la vita 2018
Quite simply, one of the most beautifully crafted films we have ever seen. A journey to the origins of memory.