BAFF | 2021
Online | May 7th - 14th
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The tenth annual British Animation Film Festival was held online with an amazing selection of animated films.
The festival aims to highlight the best in British and International animated entertainment. This will be an incredible opportunity to see some of the brightest up and coming animators in the world and the work they are producing. This year's festival was a diverse selection of animation from around the world!
The Official Selection
The Lotte Reiniger List
The Film Festival Guild Lotte Reiniger List is for screenplays of outstanding quality.
This list is named in honour of Lottie Reiniger, the first person to create an animated feature film.
These pieces are up for both the title of Best Unproduced Screenplay as well as
four Runners-Up positions.
Feature Films
Strike
(101m)
Director: Trevor Hardy
Writer: Neil James
Producers: Jeremy Davis & Edward Catchpole
Cast: Ken Stott
A young mole must try to achieve his impossible dream of becoming a footballer in order to save his hometown gold mine from a greedy supervillain known only as 'The Boss
Will be screening live in 2022
Short Films
A Viral Spiral
(Steve Cutts, 4m)
Climate change seems like a problem of a far distant future. We just go on with business as usual. But climate change, just like the loss of biodiversity and the current pandemic, is a consequence of how we treat nature. Corona is a wake-up call that has disrupted all of our lives. All attention goes towards solving the current problem: controlling the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But prevention is better than cure. To do this, we have to look at how infectious diseases emerge and spread.
BENCH
(Rich Webber, 2m)
A short film about sharing....
Between Hunters and Foxes
(Ben Sinclair, 4m)
Through terror and trauma, a fox is snatched from the UK countryside and transported across the planet to a vastly different environment - Australia. After coming to terms with its vibrancy and exotic wildlife, the fox finally discovers why he has been brought here - bloodsport. Hounded down by huntsmen and brainwashed dogs across vast landscapes, there is seemingly no end to this sport, continuing to this day. Yet there is one group that stands in the way of this cruelty - the Melbourne Hunt Saboteurs. Through a passion for saving lives and protecting foxes, these activists sabotage this vicious act and strive to maintain respect and love for all wildlife.
Bubble
(Morgan Powell, 3m)
"My partner and I were told by the midwife that our second child may have complications, and we wouldn’t know for sure until she was born.
For the next six months I endured an overwhelming urge to swap places with our baby, and take on her pain so that she could be free from it.
The idea for the film is based on this, but the film is much more about curiosity and exploration, empathy and the unexpected.
Robin, not so baby anymore, turned out fine.
This was a personal project of mine, in between jobs over the course of 1.5 years."
De Berde
(Star Bazancir, 2m)
A story about people of flesh and blood, torn apart by illusions named border, nations and race.
Elevator Alone
(Anastasia Papadopoulou, 4m)
A comedic short film using stop motion animation technique. Inspired by everyday life and by the difference in people's behavior when they are alone, in contrast to the socially acceptable behavior that individuals adopt when in public space and especially in the confined and always awkward setting of an elevator.
Feeling Lonely
(Julian Vargas, 3m)
A young bean gets in an accident and loses his best friend, his dog. Will they ever be reunited?
Gekou
(Ajisa Asai, 2m)
*下校（Gekou) : Japanese. word for "Coming home from school"
Under the influence of Covid-19, people have disappeared from the city. The everyday life of the past has changed into an extraordinary life. However, it is also true that we can now see parts of the world that we could not see in the past.
This is a work that depicts the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Ghost Dogs
(Joe Cappa, 11m)
A family’s new rescue pup is terrorized by deceased pets in this mind-bending horror.
Girl and Robot
(Joe Loftus, 12m)
'Girl and Robot' follows the story of a traumatized young girl who is chased across the desert by officers of the state. On her way, she meets a Robot who is afraid of being left alone. As the pursuers catch up, the Girl and the Robot must work together to survive.
Heart of the Nation
(Tribambuka, 3m)
A short animation celebrating the role of migrants in the NHS, for the exhibition in Migration Museum, London
My Particular Case
(Chico Jofilsan, 4m)
In a world in which focus no longer stands out dispersion occupies the foreground. This is the theme of this film that shows different resources of animation in adapting to the rhythm of our minds. After all, what other art, if not animation, can shape so many imaginary worlds?
Just for the Record
(Vojin Vasovic, 7m)
In an abandoned attic, dictaphone robot REC desperately tries to connect to тхе bird that stops on its window. Using his play button to say something, he finds himself shocked by the content and scares the bird away. He rushes to make her come back, to record over his "own voice" before his battery leaks.
Kapaemahu
(Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer & Joe WIlson, 8m)
Long ago, four extraordinary individuals of both male and female spirit brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii. Beloved by the people for their gentle ways and miraculous cures, they imbued four giant boulders with their powers. The stones still stand on what is now Waikiki Beach, but the true story behind them has been hidden – until now. Narrated in an ancient Hawaiian dialect, Kapaemahu brings this powerful legend back to life in vivid animation, seen through the eyes of a curious child.
Lampedusa - Christophe Maé
(Anthony Ferré, 4m)
A heartfelt but tragic animated music video that tells a story all too familiar for Lampedusa, an island known as a symbol of irregular migration between Africa and Europe. We follow the story of a young man attempting to emigrate to Europe - a land he will never reach, before capsizing and ultimately sinking off the shores of Lampedusa.
Mogu and Perol
(Tsuneo Goda, 9m)
A story about two friends living on Yummy Island, where delicious food can be found everywhere! Whenever Mogu is cooking, Perol just pops up and eats the yummy meal. One day Perol finds a very tasty looking Brrrr-berry that Mogu was about to pick. Perol doesn't wait for a second to taste the berry which brings about an unexpected quarrel between the two.
Mountain
(Harrison Fleming, 5m)
Four retired mountaineers reminisce and boast about the crippling injuries they sustained attempting to conquer a mythical mountain in their youth. Their nostalgic ramblings turn to horrors as their wounds seek to consume them.
MY BABUSHKA SMOKES A PIPE
(Ivan Pavlov, 3m)
The film about people who defeated fascism and saved our lives.
Nanakorobi (Seven Falls)
(Gaby Breiter, 7m)
A story by Glenna Burmer based on the Japanese saying Nanakorobi-Ya Oki, or fall seven times, but get back up the eighth. A little girl faces seven challenges to save an orphan who is lost in the snowy woods of Hokkaido.
Not for money, not for love, not for nothing
(John Robert Lee, 14m)
In the underground world of money and sex, this emotionally engaging documentary gives rare insight into the reflective personal struggle of sex workers. Using animation for anonymity, real questions are deliberated by real women, sharing their real stories.
The film follows Paula, who came to Newport on a spiritual mission to help women who have become trapped by abusive relationships, enslaved by a broken system, and beaten by those who pay for the privilege.
Orders
(Aleix Pitarch, 30m)
April 2004. It's Friday, peak time. Somewhere in America, a phone rings. A voice on the other side of the line speaks: someone has reported a theft.
Red. The Color Within
(William Javier La Portilla, 5m)
Dannae, a young artist, is in search of red paint in order to finish a canvas she’ll be presenting soon, but as the only art supply store near her is closed, and with time against her, the night presents an offer that brings out her real nature.
Snow Shelter
(Robertas Nevecka, 16m)
Frigid winter in a war-devastated, present-day city. Several years have passed since the destruction, and the city is slowly rebuilding. A thirty-year-old guy is living as a squatter in an apartment with a group of strangers. He struggles to survive and also to find a little more comfort in this rough setting. One night he nearly burns the flat down, hoping for a warmer sleep. His roommates start hating him, so the guy has to find another shelter.
Stop It
(Lingxi Zhang &
Tom Chegaray, 3m)
It’s a normal day of a normal family in this normal, repetitive, boring pandemic time, while objects take revenge as a consequence of their overconsumption...We're gonna stop it right now!
Super Science Friends - Episode 1 "The Phantom Premise"
(Brett Jubinville, 16m)
Super Science Friends was created by Brett Jubinville, animated by a lot of talented people at Tinman Creative Studios, and was successfully kickstarted November 2014. It features a team of time-travelling super scientists led by Winston Churchill who travel through time fighting nazis, zombies and all manner of sciency villains!
Tenant
(Sarah Benson, 6m)
Girl moves into apartment and becomes consumed with curiosity for her reclusive, strange flatmate
THE ADVENTURES OF GLORIA SCOTT - Murder in the Cathedral
(Matija Pisacic &
Tvrtko Raspolic, 16m)
The early 20th century London. Famous detective Gloria Scott and her faithful companion Mary Lambert are spending a quiet evening in their office. Then, an unknown murderer kills professor Jansen at their doorstep. A new adventure awaits them.
The Cat
(Mary Apick, 13m)
The story of a happy little girl who is selling flowers on the street…. until the idyllic world she knows is enveloped by an oozing, malevolent darkness that destroys everything in its path. She is forced to run for her life as the darkness consumes anything that it can’t control – art, education, religion, society, and even the people themselves. The darkness and oppression are so relentless that the exhausted girl gives up. But she can’t go through with it. She has to continue fighting… whatever the cost. Her strength and determination bring light back to her life and repel the darkness. She is free once again. And the world is beautiful once again.
The Christmas Letter
(Kealan O Rourke, 26m)
The Christmas Letter is a touching tale about friendship and the magic of Christmas. Narrated by Kate Winslet (Titanic) and starring Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter, Killing Eve) as Ms Broom and Caitriona Balfe (Outlander, Ford v Ferrari) as Ellie.
Henry is so excited about Christmas and wants everyone to feel the same way, so he sets about spreading some Christmas cheer by putting up decorations around his neighbourhood. But when he visits an elderly neighbour, Ms. Broom, with a sack of Christmas baubles to brighten up her house she wants nothing to do with Christmas and shoos him away. Can Henry help Ms. Broom to rediscover the magic of Christmas and bring colour back to her dreary world?
The Dead Hands of Dublin
(Leo Crowley, 8m)
The film tells the story of Sidney, a failed pianist who comes into the possession of a pair of enchanted gloves. Upon wearing them he soon finds himself playing the piano like a maestro and all his dreams are quickly realised! However just when he thinks he has everything he has ever wanted fate deals him a cruel hand...
The One Who Crossed the Sea
(Jonas Riemer, 11m)
The animated documentary THE ONE WHO CROSSED THE SEA tells the story of a GDR refugee who joins the new right. In a folding boat, he flees via Denmark to Western Germany, where the story tips into the dark. His newly acquired freedom turns into disorientation. Only in a burgeoning nationalist movement does the main character find a new home. The film poses the elementary question: Where does the fear of the foreign and the desire for isolation really come from?
The Organized Life
(Patrick Yu Wang &
Nguyet Nghi Duong, 2m)
"The Organized Life" is a 3D animated short film that presents the relationship between mother and son through the son solving the issue of not being able to control himself from organizing everything in life.
The Peculiar Crime of Oddball Mr Jay
(Bruno Caetano, 11m)
In a city where nature has been forbidden, a small crime by a simple man triggers a chain of unexpected consequences.
The Red Pen
(Raffaele Gabrielli, 11m)
The Red Pen is a Matryoshka of connected memories, one leading to another. It’s like going down into a well, to catch a thought and re-emerging from it by climbing up a ladder.
The Weather is Lovely
(Chun-Chien Lien, 14m)
Claude, the cloud maker, accidentally drops his cloud-making gadget after finished his daily mission. The gadget gets picked up by a researcher Yin in a weather observatory atop a remote Mountain. Yin learns how to use the gadget and makes a lots clouds inside the lab. Claude, meanwhile, can only observe patiently outside and seek chance to retrieve his gadget secretly (since he
is not allowed to reveal himself to the people on the ground.) A thunder cloud that Yin made releases a thunderbolt on radio and causes a small fire scene. In her attempt to put out fire, the gadget gets short-circuited and turns into a huge water-thirst cloud monster. Claude is forced to show up and teams with Yin to stop it from becoming a total disaster
Visual ASMR
(Onesal Studio, 1m)
Visual ASMR, or Visual Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. ASMR is the subjective experience of euphoria characterized by a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin.
Natural sculpture formations set in seemingly impossible earth-like landscapes covered by living elements of surreal colors, each film travels through each almost at a micro level, witnessing its evolution. All takes place in four other-worldly landscapes we set up to examine up close the interaction, movements, and evolution of the elements with their surroundings. Each of the shorts is inspired by elements in nature, architecture, and timelapse photography.
The body of work delves into textural, tactile elements morphing, and interacting with each other in surreal environments. The work set off to blur the boundaries between nature and design, simplicity and complexity, in an abstract uncompromised way.
Wade
(Upamanyu Bhattacharyya & Kalp Sanghvi, 11m)
In a version of Kolkata, India rendered unliveable by sea level rise, things take a dark turn when a family of climate change refugees are ambushed by a tiger on the flooded streets.
Washing Machine
(Alexandra Májová, 5m)
Wash and love.
What Will You Do Now, John?
(Pooja Pottenkulam, 9m)
John likes routine, so when he comes back home one day to find his wife gone, he is very worried. He’s not sure why she’s left, but the more pressing issue is the possible disruption that her disappearance could cause to his routine.
He pretends that she still lives with him. At the supermarket, he buys meals for two. At work, he puts up her pictures at his desk. Over a few months, he builds a routine around the illusion that he still has a wife at home. He settles into this new life.
Will anyone find out that his wife has left him? Will his routine be disrupted again? How long will he continue the charade?
The Awards
2021
Best Animated Short
A Viral Spiral
BENCH
Between Hunters and Foxes
Bubble
De Berde
Elevator Alone
Feeling Lonely
Gekou
Ghost Dogs
Girl and Robot
Heart of the Nation
In My Particular Case
Just For The Record
Kapaemahu
Lampedusa - Christophe Maé
Mogu and Perol
Mountain
MY BABUSHKA SMOKES A PIPE
Nanakorobi (Seven Falls)
Not for money, not for love, not for nothing
Red. The Color Within
Snow Shelter
Stop It
Tenant
THE ADVENTURES OF GLORIA SCOTT - Murder in the Cathedral
The Cat
The Christmas Letter
The Dead Hands of Dublin
The One Who Crossed the Sea
The Organized Life
The Red Pen
The weather is lovely
Visual ASMR
*Wade*
What Will You Do Now, John?
Best Music Video
*Feeling Lonely*
Lampedusa - Christophe Maé
Mountain
Stop It
Best Student Animation
Elevator Alone
Gekou
*Tenant*
The Organized Life
The Red Pen
Best Animation
Just For The Record
Kapaemahu
*Show Shelter*
Wade
Best Sound Design
*The Dead Hands of Dublin*
The Red Pen
The Weather is Lovely
Visual ASMR
Best Music
Between Hunters and Foxes
*Kapaemahu*
Tenant
Wade
The Lotte Reiniger Award
De Berde
Gekou
In My Particular Case
*The One Who Crossed the Sea*
The Rising Star Award
Joe Cappa (Ghost Dogs)
Pooja Pottenkulam (What Will You Do Now John?)
*Raffaele Gabrielli (The Red Pen)*
Sarah Benson (Tenant)
Best Unproduced Screenplay
Hiccups (Written by Michael Evans)
*It's a wondoughful life (Written by Jana Forkel)*
Spirit Lake (Written by John Kelly)
The Outcasts (Written by Alkyoni Valsari)
Wild Heart (Written by Rachel Johnson)
.