Top North-West filmmakers will have their shorts screened in MediaCityUK just before the livestreaming of a major British award ceremony.
Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) has partnered with the British Animation Awards (BAA) to take next week’s prestigious award ceremony to a big screen at University of Salford.
Steve Henderson, Director and CEO of MAF, said: “Before the live-stream ceremony we’re also screening a selection of animated films from the north-west, called ‘Best of the North-West’.
“So, you get to see a screening of fantastic work from up here, you get to realise that all this amazing work was made on your doorstep, you get to share a sense of local pride, and then you can watch the British Animation Awards”
BAA runs every two years, with the ceremony always taking place in London, for the first time the event will be livestreamed to a wider audience, being shown in venues across the country.
MAF with the University of Salford, will provide a space to enjoy the livestream, the shorts coming with it, and a friendly environment.
Henderson unveiled the list of the shorts to SalfordNow. They are:
Songs of the City by Adelina Court
Bernard by Paul Flannery
Fragments by Adekemi Roluga
Squib by Baz Sells
Nothing New by Alan Livesey & Flora Martyr
Mad Dogs by Steve Boot & Paul Flannery
Europe Is Lost by Gary Motion
Abandoned by Emilia Schneider
Skeleton of a Moth by Emma Kay Smith
Jaybirds by Jessica Wheeler
Black slide by Uri Lowtan
Henderson commented on their diversity saying: “There are films that have been made on a shoestring budget, films that have been made on a massive budget, there are films that tug at the heartstrings, films that make you laugh and films that make you cry.
“We have films that really show the character of the north-west.”
MAF hopes that screening the films will raise the profile of animation in the north-west.
In 2021 MAF launched Animate North-West an organisation that aims to bring animation businesses together and put Salford, Manchester, and the entire north-west animation industry on the map.
He said: “When people think of animation, they always think of America first and foremost, they’ll think of Pixar, they’ll think of Disney, they might even think of Looney Tunes, they think it’s an American invention.
“And it’s far from that, it’s a worldwide invention and it has its origins in the UK.”
The British Animation Awards are considered very prestigious within the UK animation industry and MAF stands to support the north-west filmmakers nominated this year.
Henderson said: “We rely on independent cinema, places like HOME in Manchester, to show us something unique.
“And this is just another opportunity to see something unique, to see something that’ll blow your mind and something that will really excite you.
“The best thing about our screening is, it’s all made in the north-west and I’m looking forward to that.”
MAF Presents: The British Animation Awards will take place March 10 in University of Salford’s campus in Media City at 6pm, with tickets still available here.
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