I don’t think I shared this here.

I had the privilege to attend the Brighton International Animation Festival last weekend, just before I travelled to Scotland for my last week at work. I also had time to catch up with a friend and see a beautiful sunset.

There was a diverse selection of films by emerging and established international filmmakers covering themes including pollution, trans experience, birth control, beauty standards and ancestral memories.

Many of the stories were intensely personal, such as ‘It all comes down’ by @ee.rls, an exploration of the memories passed on by the ceasefire generation of Northern Ireland, ‘Pomegranate’ by @lseabrook_animation, a mother’s experience of post-natal depression, and ‘The phantom sound’ by @ellie.ponte, an experimental documentary about tinnitus, hyperacusis and hearing loss.

Dark humour and surprise were also used to good effect in films such as ‘Making it up’ by @aliceguymer, looking at toxic beauty standards, ‘Floaters’ by @mocong.yuan (fellow floaters observer here👋), reflecting on our experience of difference, and ‘Welcome to the beach’ by @pia_m_sun, exploring sea pollution.

There was also an incredible stop motion puppet showcase with delightfully intricate work. I particularly enjoyed the documentary ‘Visible mending’ by Samantha Moore, about how people find healing through knitting, the fantastical in the ordinary of ‘Tennis, Oranges’ by Sean Pecknold, and the unlucky but loveable scarecrow of Lilly Human’s ‘Scaredy Crow’.

The event had sign language interpretation and captions, as well as a really cool augmented reality art gallery.

It was my first time at the festival but I look forward to going again. As a hobbyist, i’ve spent the past year enjoying reconnecting with my art (some works at @marmaladeandmango and @inkbynight), but been putting off animation ‘until I’m ready’ (@kitsunemation). This showcase was just the encouragement I needed and, as Dom Minns, Creative Director of @brighton_zoo, said in their talk (paraphrased): “keep making stuff”😊

#BIAF2025 #Animation #2DAnimation #StopMotion

Posted on 9 Apr 2025