Manchester Animation Festival Announces Hybrid Edition For 2021

2020 was the year of the Virtual festival. The majority of in-person festivals and conventions had to be scrapped, but in a lot of cases, virtual events popped up in their place. In 2021, as government mandates have been relaxed or lifted in many places, organisers have been left with a tough decision. Risk going ahead as normal, or play it safe and take place fully online?

Alternatively, some are opting for a combination of the two. Manchester Animation Festival, the UK's biggest event of its kind, has announced that MAF 2021 will be their first hybrid edition. The aim is to screen short films and features both online and in-person at the festival's traditional venue HOME. This way, those who feel comfortable doing so can enjoy the screenings with a crowd, and everyone else can enjoy from the comfort of their home.

However, all events that feature guests, such as workshops, panels and masterclasses will take place online only, via the Eventive platform. This will avoid the potential pitfalls that come with bringing in guests from around the country or overseas.

Of course, as we all know only too well pandemics are anything but predictable. But following last year's very successful virtual festival, the MAF team will be able to go ahead, even if things did get worse and the in-person screenings had to be cancelled.

Manchester Animation Festival will take place this year from November 14-19, although the online content will be available until the end of the month. The full line-up will be announced on September 27. The organisers promise it will be bigger than ever, and will include some features that have not yet been announced.

Every year, the festival commissions an artist with a connection to the festival or the city to design the festival poster and create an animated ident. This year, the poster and ident come from Matthew Lee, director of shorts Cabin Pressure (2017 MAF Student prize winner) and graduation short One Liner that screened as part of MAF 2019. The poster has been revealed, with the ident coming at a later date.

For more information and information about how to get involved, visit the MAF website.