Manchester Animation Festival DAY ONE (Great shorts, terrible shorts and My Life As A Courgette) (OUAN402)

I had a really swell time at the first day of the festival. It was really awesome to check out hours upon hours of non-stop, free cinema. I love a good story, mate, and the quality of the stories on display have been really cracking. What I like most is that I got to see the kind of stuff that I'd never normally check out. Here are a few things that I want to discuss most.

Parade: Dir Digna van der Put / Netherlands

The first thing that grabbed my attention about this short was the art style. The character design was slightly similar to my own, especially in terms of the eyes. Thanks to the charm and charisma of the design of the marching band members, the animation kept an upbeat and light atmosphere about it which I really liked, even when it started dealing with dark topics like mob mentality. The way it was shot, showing the parade marching across the seams of a jacket, was a great effect.

My Life As A Courgette: Dir Claude Barras / France

One of the standout films of the festival in my opinion. The stop-motion was lovingly crafted and a delight to behold. The characters were the most memorable of all the films I saw. I'm not sure why this is. Perhaps it was because they were designed really well (I'd definitely be able to identify them by their silhouettes) but also it was clear that the team behind the film had put loads of effort into giving each character subtle personality traits that reveal a lot about their individual pasts and their mindsets. A lot of character development is packed into a short period of time, for the adult characters as well. Another thing I admired about this movie was that it didn't patronise the younger members of the audience in its portrayal of kids, recognising the everyday trials and tribulations of children in a nuanced way that's reminiscent of Charles M Schulz' "Charlie Brown and Snoopy" comics.

Cold Coffee: Dirs Stephanie Lanasque and Francois Leroy / France

I also want to address the films that didn't enthuse me so much. It helps me appreciate the other films even more. This short has resonated with me for the whole festival because it made me really uncomfortable and distressed, but not in a good way like some films can do. I've mentioned before that I don't care to watch something that I would normally dream up in a terrible nightmare because movies should be enjoyable, primarily. Even with horror, one gets a kick out of all the spooks. This had no spooks, just a grim CGI world full of blood and dead rats with a cast of characters who all take out holiday cottages in the uncanny valley. In fact, what detached me the most from this film was the character design and animation. Perhaps it was the shine of the skin texture or the cold dead eyes of the characters, but I really really disliked this short. Having said that, I am glad I saw it.