The festival
Based in Wolverhampton, the festival began in 2004 [1] and featured film screenings and retrospectives of short films as well as a range of events including educational workshops, experimental animation, industry led panels and spotlights on animation studios. FLIP was organised and hosted by Light House Media Centre in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton's School of Art and Design and School of Computing & IT, Wolverhampton Art Gallery. It was part funded by UK Film Council (National Lottery) through Screen West Midlands; Wolverhampton City Council; University of Wolverhampton; Business Link West Midlands and Animation Forum West Midlands. [2]
Exhibitions
FLIP had a partnership with Wolverhampton Art Gallery who showed works as part of the Festival. FLIP 2007 saw an exhibition of original puppets used in films such as The Corpse Bride, Mars Attacks! and Andy Pandy. During FLIP 2008, the Light House building was home to large, moving, kinetic sculptures, by London-based artist Steve Hutton. There was also a screening of animated Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s, followed by a talk on Doctor Who animation. 2009 saw the Glasgow-based Axis Animation and ArthurCox studios present examples of their work. 2010's festival hosted a presentation from the creators of the LittleBigPlanet games, Media Molecule, as well as a display from Light House Media Centre's own animator in residence, Drew Roper, including his set for his award-winning film 'A History of Denim'.
In 2011, FLIP's exhibitions included works by Barry JC Purves which included a display of the Tchaikovsky puppet, the Birmingham leg of GLI.TC/H festivals' submissions, as well as sketchbooks and artworks by Tori Davis and work from the 2011 feature film Rio , and maquettes from UK puppet makers Mackinnon & Saunders. [3] Events at 2012's FLIP included a collaborative project between web developers, animators and artists, an exhibition of artwork in vacant shops across the city and a model making workshop by Aardman Animations. The festival also helped schools develop a forum for animation shown during the festival. [4]
A recurring feature of FLIP was a curated programme hosted by guests from the animation world, including Professor Paul Wells (Director of Animation, Loughborough University), The Brothers McLeod [5] and Clare Kitson, a former programmer at the National Film Theatre and who commissioned Channel 4's animation from 1989 to 1999. [6]
The awards
The festival included a competition between animated films created using various techniques (stop motion, animated drawings, cut out paper, modelling clay, etc.) classified in to various award categories. These have included the following:
- Best of Festival
- Best UK Film
- Best International Film
- Best Newcomer
- Best Experimental Film [7]
FLIP also ran competitions for student films, created by current university/college students and, from 2010, for animators under the age of 18 years as well. [7]
William Norman McLaren, LL. D. was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was a pioneer in a number of areas of animation and filmmaking, including hand-drawn animation, drawn-on-film animation, visual music, abstract film, pixilation and graphical sound. McLaren was also an artist and printmaker, and explored his interest in dance in his films.
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known traditionally as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities: Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
Joanna Lisa Quinn is an English independent film director and animator.
Anne Wood, CBE is a British Puppet Creator and an English children's television producer, responsible for creating shows such as Teletubbies with Andrew Davenport. She is also the creator of Tots TV and Rosie and Jim. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award.
Virgil Widrich is an Austrian director, screenwriter, filmmaker and multimedia artist.
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The International Animation Festival Hiroshima, founded as International Animation Festival for the World Peace in 1985, was a biennial film festival for animated films held in Hiroshima, Japan. Its last edition was held in 2020.
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Richard Ron Cramer was an American film producer, film director, screenwriter, artist and composer.
Grierson: The British Documentary Awards, commonly known as The Grierson Awards, are awards bestowed by The Grierson Trust to recognise innovative and exciting documentary films, in honour of the pioneering Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson.
Max Hattler is a German video artist and experimental filmmaker. He created the kaleidoscopic political short films "Collision" (2005) and "Spin" (2010), abstract stop motion works "Shift" (2012) and "AANAATT" (2008), and psychedelic animation loops "Sync", "1923 aka Heaven" and "1925 aka Hell" (2010).
Kathy Smith is an Australian independent animator, painter, new media artist, and Professor with the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Smith chaired the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts from 2004 - 2009 & 2010 - 2014.
Dawn Breakers International Film Festival (DBIFF) was an international travelling film festival held in various cities throughout the world from 2007 to 2015. The festival debuted in Phoenix, Arizona and was later held in San Diego, Houston and Zürich. DBIFF was recognized as an important festival and nominated at the 2014 annual list of MovieMaker's "Top 25 Film Festivals of the World" in the Social Cause category. Selected films from this festival has received theatrical distribution, television broadcast and four Academy Award nominations.
Heartstrings is a 2009 British animated short film directed by Rhiannon Evans at the University of Wales in Newport. It tells us the story of two stop-motion figures made from string, who fall in love; their love is represented by a red string that connects them at the heart.
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Light House Media Centre, often simply referred to as Light House, was an independent cinema, gallery and media hub located within the historic Chubb Building, the former Chubb Locks Factory, in Wolverhampton city centre. It closed in November 2022, after operating for over 35 years.
The Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) is an annual nonprofit film festival dedicated to promoting and increasing multicultural awareness and showcases world cinema and independent films in their original language with English subtitles. Independent film producers, directors and actors within the US and abroad are invited to participate in engaging panel discussions and Q&A sessions after the screenings. Each year the festival greets more than 2,000 movie aficionados and shows about fifty films from all over the world with an impressive lineup of premieres. The Arlington International Film Festival also includes a year-round events such as poster contest competitions, pre-festival screenings and art exhibitions with local artists and performances by musicians, singers and dancers.
The Underwire Film Festival was an annual event observing short films made with a major female contribution. Held in London, this film festival was dedicated to promoting and celebrating female talent across the UK television and film industry. Underwire Awards recognise teamwork, skill, artistry, vision and endeavour of women who have excelled in key production roles, both as actors and from the production team.
