Fifteen short films, selected from an international open call, are from Austria, Belgium, England, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Scotland, South Korea, the USA and Wales. They explore subjects that range from intimate, personal stories to wider geopolitical events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, and the climate crisis. They consider the places we call home, and our need to connect with other humans, animals and nature. The diverse animation techniques represented include photo cut-out, risograph, kitchen lithography, timelapse, charcoal, pinscreen, 3D, stop motion, and hand-drawn on paper.

Live Q&A with Olivia Dugdale and Kim Noce

Olivia Dugdale (director of Pigeon Holding) is an illustrator and animator from London currently based in Glasgow. Her work is grounded in observation, using drawing as a tool to pick out details and tell stories through images and animation. Olivia studied at The Glasgow School of Art. Her film Pigeon Holding explores the relationship between people and birds through a combination of hand drawn animation and photographic collage, centring around the community of pigeon keepers in Glasgow.

Kim Noce (contributor to In the Garden: Giggles In the Greenery) created illustrations and animations researching the mystical history of Datura in witchcraft. Her work explores women healers historically mislabelled as witches, using medicinal herbs, symbols, and movement to tell their stories. Inspired by Witches, Midwives, and Nurses, Kim highlights the suppression of women in medicine as male practices took over. Datura, a plant with psychoactive alkaloids, historically linked to witch hunts, rituals, and traditional medicine, embodies the fine line between remedy and poison.

Runtime: 90 minutes

Running order:

• High Street Repeat, Laurie Hill and Osbert Parker, 4 mins 25 secs, 2023, UK
• In The Garden: Giggles In The Greenery, Dominica Harrison, 4 mins 34 secs, 2024, UK
• Silent Panorama, Nicolas Piret, 5 mins 9 secs, 2024, Belgium
• NATURA 2040, Hantao Li, 11 mins 5 secs, 2024, UK
• TWENTYTИƎWT, Max Hattler, 7 mins, 2023, Hong Kong
• Dull Spots of Greenish Colours, Sasha Svirsky, 10 mins 32 secs, 2024, Germany
• Raining through my bones, Meghana Bisineer, 5 mins, 2022, USA
• Noggin, Case Jernigan, 7 mins 10 secs, 2024, USA
• Liminal Roots, Aliyah Harfoot, 4 mins 20 secs, 2024, UK
• Contradiction of Emptiness, Irina Rubina, 3 mins 6 secs, 2024, Germany
• FLORE, Emily Sasmor, 2 mins 12 secs, 2022, USA
• Pigeon Holding, Olivia Dugdale, 1 min 41 secs, 2023, UK
• I Am a Horse, Chaerin Im, 7 mins 58 secs, 2022, South Korea
• Adulting, James Duesing, 8 mins 10 secs, 2024, USA
• Mokosh, Anna Dudko, 4 mins 45 secs, 2023, Austria
• 
  

All that is solid: the third Animate is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and Derby City Council.

More information can be found via: animateprojects.org/portfolio/allthatissolid

Animate Projects

Animate Projects is a Derby based, producer led, arts organisation, working regionally, nationally, and internationally, with a focus on experimental animation practice. animateprojects.org

Content warning

Some of the films deal with issues that may be sensitive or distressing to some viewers and may not be suitable for children.

Content includes:

Depictions of emotional distress, intense situations, nudity, racism, and COVID-19 lockdown; discussion of trauma, mental health, depression, anxiety, war, torture, death, illness, sex, animal injury and the Ukraine invasion.

Some films include flashing images or stroboscopic effects, intense soundtracks, sudden loud sounds and startling visual effects.

Viewer discretion is advised.

Please take care of yourself and feel free to step away if needed.