Cardiff Animation Festival announces Official Selection & Early Bird passes on sale now

This April, Cardiff Animation Festival (CAF) is back for its third year, and has today announced its official selection of 102 animated short films in competition.

This year, Cardiff Animation Festival is going hybrid, with online events held throughout April, and in-person events held at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff from 7–10 April. 

A full jam-packed programme of screenings, masterclasses, Q&As, networking events and parties will be announced in early March, but key among them are the short film screenings that showcase some of the best animated work that has been made over the last two years.

With 102 short films from 22 countries – over half of which were directed by women – the selection features a variety of unique voices and a diverse range of stories.

The seven screenings for adult audiences all have hybrid titles that reflect the festival’s 2022 theme.

• Together/Apart explores the struggles and the joys of relationships, featuring everything from fighting to survive in the post-apocalyptic future in Reduction (Réka Anna Szakály), to reflecting on time spent with a loved one in A Bite of Bone (Honami Yano).
• Human/Nature asks the question: What makes us human? Are we truly different from everything else on the planet? The concept of humanity is explored through films from the serene The Principle of Sunrise (Ye Song) to the UK premiere of Soft Tissue by Cliona Noonan.
• Sound/Vision is a treat for the ears as well as the eyes. Music and animation come together to provide a multi-sensory experience, featuring films like the abstract 04111311 (Flora Martyr) and the adorable Polar Bear Bears Boredom (Koji Yamamura).
• Home/Sick is a selection packed with nostalgia. It’s an opportunity to cosy up with cherished memories from childhood in Forever A Kid (Frederieke Mooij) and a family’s eccentric obsessions with Affairs of the Art (Joanna Quinn).
• Silent/Cinema shows that a great film transcends language barriers. The films in this selection don’t have dialogue, but each one says a lot. Fall into dreamy summer memories in Chado (Dominica Harrison) and sail away with surreal cruise ship tragicomedy Arka (Natko Stipanicev).
• Reel/Life is a showcase of animated documentaries. From stories of the Hong Kong Riots in Prince Edward (Hoching Kwok) to an autobiographical portrayal of living with autism in Strange (Cameron Carr), this selection is packed with touching tales and inspiring stories.
• After/Dark is a late-night screening of shorts with a bit of a bite. From ravenous spiders in Arachnarche (Emma Jordan), to a gruesome re-telling of human history in Cuties (Theo W Scott), this adults-only selection is not for those who are unsettled easily…

Cardiff Animation Festival’s Family programme will also include a variety of events for children. The Animated Family Shorts screening for primary school-age children includes an adventure with some furry friends in A Cat Called Jam (Lorraine Lordan) and an eventful journey to school in Tobi and the Turbobus (Verena Fels). Further events for children and families will be announced in early March.

Lauren Orme, Festival Director of Cardiff Animation Festival commented: “After having to postpone CAF 2020 at the eleventh hour, the last two years have been a crash course in running online events. This year, we’re combining our experience of running online and in-person events with our first ever hybrid edition. We’re so excited to be back at Chapter and venues around Cardiff with a huge range of in-person events, as well as making lots of the festival available online, giving our audiences the chance to access the festival however they want to. We can’t wait to see everyone in person and in the online chat box!”