Cardiff Animation Nights Celebrates Double Figures!
Following its fantastic success at the Cardiff Independent Film Festival in April, Cardiff Animation Nights returned to 10 Feet Tall yesterday evening for its 10th animation screening event.
Celebrating the double figures mark in style, the night lived up to its highly popular reputation with a full house of animation professionals, students and enthusiasts alike. The CAN events have become great opportunities to reconnect with animation buddies and meet folks from the industry, and last night was no exception.
CAN veterans know the best way to enjoy the films is by grabbing a coveted front row seat with a Happy Hour cocktail in hand. However, the events are so popular that most attendees show their hardcore enthusiasm by packing themselves into every available space, whether they’re sitting cross legged on the stage, perched on the windowsills or peering around each other from the wings. Either way, you can tell there’s a lot of love for animation in the room.
Director of CAN Lauren Orme
Director of Cardiff Animation Nights, Lauren Orme, agrees: ‘It feels like CAN has found a really lovely audience in Cardiff. People are really receptive, not just to animation in general but to the sort of animation we’re trying to show.’ The films chosen for the bi-monthly screenings are often exclusive and not available online. ‘We like bringing films that you would see at an animation festival to the people here,’ says Lauren. ‘I also really like showing films from different countries because they have a slightly different take on things. They show us ‘this is what’s possible’ – which is particularly great for when students come.’
Last night’s selection included the cheekily charming stop-motion Musicidio from Spain, and Choban, a Croatian short based on the story of the first dog in space, which Lauren has named ‘a bit of a masterpiece’.
Lucy and the Limbs
Also in the line-up was the soporific Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, the isolating newspaper world of My Dad, and the weird deadpan comic timing of Small People With Hats, which had the audience in stitches. There were also plenty of dark chuckles for the adorably gruesome Lucy and the Limbs, which blended lush 2D animation with 3D wooden backgrounds; it’s a really lovely film to look at, which makes the grisly story all the more fun.
At the end of the night, we had another dose of black humour with Thomas Lucas’ short, Death in Space, which made a hilarious reappearance after its debut at Cardiff Independent Film Festival. Also screening were 06:13, Milton and Lydia and Ross Hogg and Duncan Cowles Isabella,
My Dad
With such a varied and high quality selection of films on offer, it’s easy to see why Cardiff Animation Nights attracts such a great crowd time after time. On the subject of what’s lined up for the future of CAN, Lauren says, ‘Watch this space! In the meantime, there’ll be lots more of these.’
The next Cardiff Animation Night will be in August, and to keep up to date with the latest CAN news and events, you can sign up to their mailing list. See you at the next one!