AKA UK: French Film Festival, MAF, Anime On All 4 and Aardman Academy
La Fête Du Cinema aka French Film Festival UK has been bringing the best in French-language cinema to venues across the country for 27 years now. This year's edition will feature an animation strand, featuring some of the best recent French animated features. Michel Ocelot's latest Dilili In Paris will screen, alongside CGI family feature Yellowbird and festival favourites I Lost my Body and Swallows Of Kabul. Animated films also feature among the shorts. The films will screen at various venues across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland (sorry, Wales) between November 1 and December- check the website for full details.
Speaking of festivals, don't forget that Manchester Animation Festival is just around the corner! The UK's biggest animation festival celebrates its fifth year by expanding to a five day event.
Anime Limited has teamed up with Channel 4 to bring 100 hours of anime on the streaming service All4. The deal includes 14 titles in all, all of which are to stream in English dubbed format for free with ads. Some of the titles have yet to receive a physical release in the UK or have not been streaming elsewhere. Titles available now include Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Inuyasha, Tokyo Ghoul, Megalo Box and Cardcaptor Sakura. To be added at a later date are titles including Kill La Kill and Gurren Lagann.
Wanting to get a start in stop-motion animation but not sure where to start? How about learning from the best? Aardman has announced Aardman Academy will host two model-making courses during 2020. The courses will be taught by the studio's senior model maker Jim Parkyn. The courses will take place in April and July of next year and the first of them "is aimed at students starting a degree, as well as participants and animation lecturers keen to learn the essentials of stop frame." The second course is a 2 week model making summer school, details to be confirmed. You can register your interest in one or both courses now via email.
