World Animation Competition 2

We present ten more exciting new films from around the world in our second World Animation programme, packed with absorbing dreamscapes, poetic fables, oddball docu-fictions and intimate miniature worlds. We welcome Ivana Bošnjak and Thomas Johnson, who spin another fascinating Croatian yarn using sugar sachets and plush galloping horses in Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse. The UK is represented by Ainslie Henderson’s curious woodland spirits in Shackle.

**Slow Light **| Katarzyna Kijek, Przemysław Adamski | Poland | 2022 | 11mins

In the late 1960s, a sci-fi story suggested that ‘slow glass’ slows down the light passing through it, so what you see actually took place years before. This film plays with that concept, depicting a man doomed to lifelong immaturity.

**27 **| Flóra Anna Buda | France | 2023 | 10mins

Bored birthday girl Alice, escaping her suffocating and frustrating life with her family, embarks on a alcohol and drug-fuelled night of wild abandon and explicit sexual reverie. 27 is a colourful and sensuous tale where reality and dreams merge.

Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse | Ivana Bosnjak Volda, Thomas Johnson Volda | Croatia | 2022 | 9mins

Trapped within the glitchy instability of the White Horse café, two characters regard each other warily. An atmospheric new film by Ivana Bošnjak and Thomas Johnson Volda, the Croatian duo who made Simulacra (LIFF 2014) and Imbued Life (LIFF 2019).

Suruaika | Vlad Ilicevici, Radu C Pop | Romania | 2022 | 9mins

The streets of a noirish imaginary city are dark and full of stray cats. Driving his taxi every night in the fog, the protagonist hopes his love is enough to keep the one cat he has adopted safe from harm.

GMAN: a qixia in space | Yuchen Liu | China | 2022 | 9mins

With a story pulled from He-Man-esque confrontations and 80’s morals, there’s a distinctly Japanese sensibility to a film eager to subvert traditional masculine and antagonistic tropes. It’s an insanely fun and wild ride through a multitude of anime and animation styles.

Shackle | Ainslie Henderson | United Kingdom | 2022 | 9mins

Woodland spirits create magical and beautiful natural patterns in their sun-dappled glade. But there is also a darkness to nature, a barrier to their paradise, that is crossed by a creature who seeks connection and perhaps, even beauty.

Skinned | Joachim Hérissé | France | 2022 | 15mins

In this gruesome and macabre tale, conjoined twins live alone in the middle of a swamp, but their partnership is not equal, and if the flesh is willing… “The pleasure of love lasts but a moment. Heartbreak lasts a lifetime”.

**About a cow **| Pavla Baštanová | Czech Republic | 2023 | 12mins

It’s time for a bounty of bovines! In a playful, humorous and colourful collage, we share brief moments with our cow friends from all across the globe. These scenes portray the cow as a sensitive creature, worthy of our admiration.

Human Resources | Trinidad Plass Caussade, Titouan Tillier, Isaac Wenzek | France | 2022 | 3mins

Showcasing new talent is one of our priorities and this film is a perfect example. A witty and satirical mockumentary created by three students from L’Ecole des Métiers du Cinéma d’Animation, based on an absurd self-recycling scenario.

This shorts programme is screening in venues during LIFF 2023. To see a full listing of our film programme please visit our What’s On Page.