London International Animation Festival, 27 Nov - 6 Dec 2020
2020 Festival Coverage
The London International Animation Festival (LIAF 2020), the UK’s largest, longest-running and most eclectic animation festival returns for its 17 th year with a mammoth 10-day celebratory feast of forums, screen talks and 205 of the best recent, historical and retrospective animated shorts and features from around the world.
This year we will be moving online, bringing the best in animation direct to people’s homes. This means many more people around the country will be able to attend LIAF for the first time. Everything our audience loves about LIAF is being transformed into a virtual version; screenings, industry panels, filmmaker introductions and talks.
Screening programmes and talks will be released daily from 27 November to 6 December, running alongside live and pre-recorded panel discussions with many of the worlds’ leading animators and industry players.
As ever, this year’s uncompromising programme promises to inspire, delight and challenge the notion that animation is merely for the 3D CGI blockbuster genre or cute cartoons for kids. Independent animation is an art form that continues to thrive and develop as a breathtaking medley of styles, materials, techniques and production - from hand drawn, paint on glass, collage, sculpture, cut outs, puppets, abstract, sand/salt, to some of the more interesting developments in CGI – all of which can be seen at this year's LIAF.
A snapshot of LIAF 2020:
● 205 films from 38 countries, 96 premieres.
● 9 international competition screenings including the British Showcase: the best, most recent 97 short films from around the world and the UK.
● 2 feature films, both UK premieres.
● Opening night gala screening - Female Figures ‘Growing Up’ - coming-of- stage films by contemporary female animators
● ‘The Best of the Next’ - the 23 best student films from the world’s best film schools.
● ‘Music video programme’ - this [moved apostrophe]'s best music clips made by the world’s most inventive animators.
● ‘Late Night Bizarre’ - a programme of the craziest, most off-the-wall, films submitted to LIAF this year.
● ‘Edge of Frame’ - 3 programmes of films at the intersection of animation, experimental film and artists’ moving image.
● 4 industry talks and panel discussions by some of the world's most revered filmmakers and members of the industry.
● 2 childrens screenings, for 0-7 year-olds and 8-14 year-olds.
● ‘The Best of the Fest’ - a roundup of LIAF 2020, where the best films as chosen by audience and industry judges are announced, awarded prizes and re-screened one more time.
2019 Festival Coverage (Archive)
2018 Festival Coverage
This year LIAF received 2,589 entries and selected 117 finalists from 30 countries to screen in official competition in 10 international competitive programmes including Into The Dark scary shorts, From Absurd to Zany funny shorts, two programmes of Animated Documentaries, the British Showcase and the Abstract Showcase. Films range from the surreal and nutty, to heart-droppingly beautiful with all emotional bases covered – love and hate, sadness, anxiety and confusion and much more.
The 2018 short film competition showcases entries from a mix of festival veterans and first-time competitors. Oscar winners Alison Snowden and David Fine (Canada) join LIAF favourites Chris Shepherd (UK), Jonathan Hodgson (UK), Juan Pablo Zaramella (Argentina), Ulo Pikkov (Estonia), Tom Schroeder (USA), Liz Hobbs (UK), Sawako Kabuki (Japan), Rosto (Netherlands), Paul Bush (UK) and Ruth Lingford (UK) alongside an unprecedented amount of strong new work from all over the world.
2020 Call for entries (Archive)
The London International Animation Festival proudly showcases the whole spectrum of creative animation, showing that animation is for everyone.
Founded in 2003, LIAF aims to dispel the popular misconception that animation is just cartoons for kids by screening the broadest possible range of intelligent, entertaining and provocative current films on offer from all around the world as well as retrospectives and specialised sessions from countries and animators who don't normally elicit such attention.
There are awards for the Best Film of the Festival, the best British film, the best sound design, the best abstract film and the best children's films. They are all judged by juries made up of people from within the animation and film industry.
To be considered eligible for selection in LIAF 2020, your film should have been completed AFTER 1 January 2019. The Festival Director reserves the right to grant exceptions to this criteria in exceptional circumstances.
- Entry Form
- Deadline submission: 31 July 2020
Event Dates
- From 27 November 2020 to 06 December 2020
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