AIAF2014

The International Programs are the backbone of the festival line-up. The freshest new shorts taken from the 2,500+ that entered (a record, folks!!). 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. Straight from their desk to your eyeballs.

Chris Sullivan is one of the rawest and most authentic voices in animation today. He is a master of a variety of hand-made animation techniques and seamlessly switches between them as he follows his own sense of dark humour down the various under-lit pathways that it drags him along. His films can be shocking and hilarious in equal measure - they are soft acid, bitter sugar and bright colours in the shade. The breadth and depth - the pure deliciously spicy malevolency - of Chris Sullivan's various targets pour forth in a kind of lumpy fluidity in his short films and we have a selection of his finest work PLUS a 10 minute sneak peak of the feature he is currently working on.

BLENDING live-action characters into animated environments is one of the most interesting intersections at which a number of creative and technical pathways cross. Chosen from the 2,900 entries, this program showcases a diverse collection of responses to the BLEND challenge.

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.

As usual, AIAF Co-Director Malcolm Turner kicks off the series with his customarily eclectic sample of the choicest animation morsels that he has picked up along his travels in the last twelve months. Curated in 'real time', this presentation should include some insights into South American animation, the Paris indie animating scene, a highlight or two from the 30th anniversary of one of the most important animation co-operatives in the world and will likely round out with a few words on the great Norman McLaren who was born 100 years ago.

Based in Castlemaine in regional Victoria, Jilli Rose is one of the most vibrant and original animators working in Australia at the moment. Her latest film "Sticky" is an absorbing look at a fascinating part of the Australian fauna. Partly funded by working on American animated documentaries, it premiered in a special screening at the Melbourne Zoo, who also supported its production. Jilli will take us through the entire planning, funding and production process of this unusual project and provide us with an insightful review of her film prior to screening it.

A chance for Australian animation to come front and centre. This is the first comprehensive snapshot of Australian animation in 2014 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. The freshest new shorts taken from the 2,500+ that entered (a record, folks!!). 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. Straight from their desk to your eyeballs.

Pulled dazed - yet screaming - from Animation Land's Groin-Electrique comes this year's cacophonous carnivale of twisted anti-classics otherwise known as Late Night Bizarre. Sure- this intro makes no sense but it doesn't have to coz you know what we mean and we know what you 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.

Working in partnership with Wiradjuri elders and language teachers, animators are helping bring Wiradjuri language to a new generation of speakers. In grass roots movements all over the world, indigenous peoples are seeking to restore their languages. Each language is a unique repository of the culture to which it belongs. Animation has the potential to make learning language easier and to communicate it in dynamic and entertaining ways. The audio-visual strengths of animation align it with what were traditionally non-written languages. Animation in this context becomes more successful when grounded in culture and country and close working relationships built on mutual respect.

Just 23 years old, Mel Roach has already carved out a career for herself in one of the toughest markets in the world. Currently she is writing, animating and directing shorts of Frederator and Nickelodeon in Los Angeles. Her current film "Rocket Dog" is a great example of the high energy, original and character driven work part of the US cable TV machine is demanding. Mel will take us through her experiences breaking into the US, some insights about the demands it places on her as a creator of animation and about the making of "Rocket Dog".

The International Programs are the backbone of the festival line-up. The freshest new shorts taken from the 2,500+ that entered (a record, folks!!). 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. Straight from their desk to your eyeballs.