AIAF2013

The International Programs are the backbone of the festival line-up. Don't look for themes, there aren't any. There's every style, every technique, every genre. Drawn from a global call for entries, they are a set of headlights illuminating the current state of the international indie and auteur animation scene worldwide.

Any Python fans out there? It's with obscene pleasure we reveal "A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman" will feature on the opening night of AIAF's 10th Anniversary! Exploding across the silver screen in full-blown 3D glory, this comical autobiography is based on a fictionalised account of Graham Chapman's life. The film used 14 animation companies, each working on chapters that range from 3 to 12 minutes in length, with each chapter in a different style. A Liar's Autobiography is Chapman's own take on his bizarre life and his search for self-knowledge. Incredible, yes. Surreal, certainly. True, who knows?

Definitely one of the must-see events of AIAF every year, a very special program of films specially selected to spark the imaginations of our most special audience. Animation, like childhood, can be just full of wonder with the biggest pleasures being the simplest ones. This program carefully chosen for our littlest and most special audience strips away all the soft-sell toy ads and the over-the-top blockbuster-style special effects and just delivers up a program of wonderful films full of simple joys. Loved by adults as well, this year's program is truly exceptional.

An AIAF staple! Co-director Malcolm Turner recounts tales of daring, near misses and bagged trophies from his annual global search for the rarest, tenderest and most dangerous animated shorts. This year expect a look at ancient Lithuanian films, collections from the deepest underground indie Canadian scene, a few highlights from the small US city that gave us Matt Groening, Bill Plympton and Gus van Sant (among others) .... and that's before he gets to the random stuff that the labels have fallen off of.

LoopdeLoop is an animation challenge. Animators from around the world create looping animations based on a given topic and submit them to www.loopdeloop.org. At the end of each theme the top 100 posted loops are compiled and screened to a live audience at Loop in Melbourne, Australia and at other venues throughout Australia and the world. LoopdeLoop gives animators an opportunity to network internationally through our blog and to rub shoulders locally with fellow animators at our screenings. The goal is to connect people working in independent animation and ease the feelings of isolation that can come with the notoriously long hours involved in the creation of their work.

A chance for Australian animation to come front and centre. This is the first comprehensive snapshot of Australian animation in 2013 and if this collection is anything to go by, creative Australian animation is in tremendous shape. One of our most important and popular programs, there aren't many opportunities to see Australian animation on the big screen and each year AIAF probably shows more than any other event in the world. This is an opportunity to see what Australian animators are doing, how they're doing it and how the art form is traveling. After the screening there is a chance to meet many of the animators, hear them talk about their films and ask them questions about their work.

The International Programs are the backbone of the festival line-up. Don't look for themes, there aren't any. There's every style, every technique, every genre. Drawn from a global call for entries, they are a set of headlights illuminating the current state of the international indie and auteur animation scene worldwide.

Crazy, scary, confounding, hella-puzzling. Buckle up Spankey, it's deja-bizarre time again! Animals seem to be disproportionately featured this year, premature death experiences, a nuanced dissertation on finger eating, clowns going bad, unique and new ways to look at raw meat and even some pretty special ads for stuff you really don't want.

Definitely one of the must-see events of AIAF every year, a very special program of films specially selected to spark the imaginations of our most special audience. Animation, like childhood, can be just full of wonder with the biggest pleasures being the simplest ones. This program carefully chosen for our littlest and most special audience strips away all the soft-sell toy ads and the over-the-top blockbuster-style special effects and just delivers up a program of wonderful films full of simple joys. Loved by adults as well, this year's program is truly exceptional.

The Lampshade Collective has built an extremely formidable reputation as first class CG filmmakers. Their first film "Nullarbor" was one of the most screened and successful short animated films ever made in Australia. Their new film, "The Gallant Captain", a stunning adaptation of a Graeme Base book is nearing completion. The Lampshaders take us through the history of making "Nullarbor" and offer a sneak peek at the Captain. You saw it here first.

Isabel Peppard's latest puppet film "Butterflies" is a wonderfully atmospheric work and a technical tour de force. Using a collection of some of her puppets and assorted props and pieces of set, Isabel will take us through what it took to get her ambitious vision completed from storyboard to creating the puppets to ensuring the film looked the way she imagined it. "Butterflies" has just won the Jury Prize for Best Short Animated Film at Cinequest International Film Festival which means the film is now eligible for Oscar nomination in the category of Best Animated Short.

The International Programs are the backbone of the festival line-up. Don't look for themes, there aren't any. There's every style, every technique, every genre. Drawn from a global call for entries, they are a set of headlights illuminating the current state of the international indie and auteur animation scene worldwide.

Every year we get more than 2,000 entries and - trust us - there is some REALLY wild stuff in there. Animation is the art form that really cuts loose, supercharges and celebrates some of the wildest imaginations on the planet. It is THE vehicle to visualise the most improbable notions, the most radical of creative transitions and to throw up on the screen the most over-the-top ideas. Late Night Bizarre is a great wharf to tie some of those boats up at but not every uber-animation fits that vibe. Enter "Animation Xcess", a home for the extreme idea, the impossible-to-describe plot and the bona fide bubbling-over-the-brim excess of imaginative animating juice.