Join us in celebrating the best British animation this year. All the films are in competition for the coveted McLaren Award, named in honour of Stirling’s Norman McLaren, a genius of film who dazzled the world with his innovative experiments in animation and synthetic sound for over half a century. In this selection, our films explore identity, neuroses and existential problems, many of them inherent in the trick of animated characters. Forget Family Guy, this is adult animation.

All Consuming Love (Man in a Cat)
Louis Hudson/UK/2012/English dialogue/Colour/9 min
A man living inside a cat gets into a sticky love-triangle.

Being Bradford Dillman - Scottish Premiere
Emma Burch/UK/2011/English dialogue/Colour/10 min
A mother and daughter are shadowed by alcohol, loneliness and a dislike of boys in this dark and humorous tale.

I'm Fine Thanks - UK Premiere
Eamonn O'Neill/UK/2011/English dialogue/Colour/4 min 30 sec
A powerful candy-coloured psychotic meditation on urban survival.
Nominated for The Award for Best Film in the British Short Film Competition.

In Dreams - Scottish Premiere
Samuel Blain/UK/2011/English dialogue/Colour/3 min 57 sec
A profound and experimental documentary focusing on the weirdest and most vivid dreams of normal individuals.

Left Kick - World Premiere
Jonathan Topf/UK/2012/English dialogue/Colour/8 min 22 sec
When Christian wakes up the world looks different; faces that were once familiar now seem strange, memories seem fractured and relationships distant.

The Making of Longbird
Will Anderson/UK/2011/English dialogue/Colour&BW/15 min 18 sec
A ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at an animator as he struggles with his character.
Nominated for The Award for Best Film in the British Short Film Competition.

A Morning Stroll - Scottish Premiere
Grant Orchard/UK/2011/English dialogue/Colour&BW/6 min 47 sec
When a New Yorker walks past a chicken on his morning stroll, we’re left to wonder which one is the real city slicker.

Moxie
Stephen Irwin/UK/2011/English dialogue/BW/5 min 40 sec
A depressed pyromaniac bear finds life without his mother a struggle. In the wake of her death, the bear falls apart and turns to increasingly extreme measures to cope.

The Pub - Scottish Premiere
Joseph Pierce/UK/2012/English dialogue/BW/7 min 45 sec
A day caught up in the murky slipstream of a North London pub.
Nominated for The Award for Best Film in the British Short Film Competition.

This Is Not Real - Scottish Premiere
Gergely Wootsch/UK/2011/English dialogue/Colour/6 min 40 sec
A young boy's chimerical journey from a small English town to the Himalayas leads him to a decisive conclusion.