Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), the UK’s largest animation festival, has revealed its programme for 2023. Returning for its ninth year, the festival will offer audiences a unique opportunity to engage with and indulge in some of the world’s best animated content. Also released today is the festival’s official sting, created by Will Becher, the Oscar-nominated co-director of Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.
Pre-sale for patreon subscribers will start today Wednesday 27th September, with the general on-sale on Friday 29th September at 12:00.
The festival will once again showcase over 100 events ranging from screenings, panels, workshops, masterclasses, making of sessions and studio talks, hosted across the city from HOME cinema to The Bridgewater Hall between 12th-17th November.
Highlights of the MAF 2023 programme include the Manchester premiere screening of Netflix’s highly anticipated Aardman sequel ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of The Nugget’ and an advanced three episode screening of Netflix’s upcoming animated series ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.’
Exclusive ‘Making Of..’ sessions will divulge what it takes to make an animation on a global scale, including Netflix’s ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ with Senior Animator, Suzy Fagan Parr. Prolific comic book artist and animation producer ND Stevenson joins the festival to discuss the recently released Netflix fantasy adventure comedy ‘Nimona’, and Producer Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones will be shedding insight on some of the behind-the-scenes magic from the production of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming animated blockbuster ‘Wish’.
Bringing films with international prestige to Manchester from across the globe, this year’s official feature film selection includes award-winning and selected films from festivals such as Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Annecy:
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Based on Michael Morpurgo’s bestselling novel, Kensuke’s Kingdom tells the story of a boy swept overboard during a storm on a worldwide sailing trip with his family. Starring Cillian Murphy, Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe. The film is made by Lupus Films who received the MAF Fellowship Award last year.
White Plastic Sky – This powerful film introduces a post-apocalyptic Budapest in the year 2123. In this future without animals and plants where the price of human survival is high, a young man breaks every rule to save his wife. The film has screened at several Film Festivals and received a special mention at Animafest Zagreb.
Mars Express – Nominated for an Annecy Cristal Award, this futuristic thriller follows private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner who are hired by a wealthy businessman to track down a notorious hacker. On their journey, they uncover a secret that threatens to change the face of the universe.
The Peasants – Fresh from its world premiere this month at Toronto Film Festival, this hand-painted film adapts a Nobel prize winning novel about an early 20th century Polish peasant woman who creates havoc by marrying an older rich man. The film was also Poland’s entry for International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
A Chicken For Linda – Following on from its win at Annecy Film Festival for Best Feature Film, this heartwarming comedy follows the story of mum Paulette who has promised to cook chicken with peppers for her daughter Linda, even though she cannot cook at all. But how will she find a chicken on the day of a general strike?
Studio sessions in the programme include panel discussions from triple Academy-Award winning studio PASSION Pictures led by PASSION’s Executive Producer and Head of Production, David Park and trailblazing pan-African company Kugali led by CEO, Hamid Ibrahim as he discusses how they defied conventional norms to make a mark in the digital landscape.
Furthermore, ‘Magic Light Pictures at 20’; a very special event celebrating 20 years of the Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning production company. The team behind classics such as ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Stickman’ will give audiences an in depth look at some of their impressive array of works.
Each year, the festival puts a spotlight on a different country and showcases the breadth of talent in animation. This year will be a focus on Croatia, with two screenings of Croatian animation, one contemporary and one classics. Audiences will also get the chance to hear from filmmaker Kata Gugić of Bonobostudio to deliver a talk about the Croatian-based studio.
MAF will also host a collection of short films curated by creatives that explore the following themes of ‘Divert, Delight, Defy: Animating Trans Identities’, as well as ‘Animated Africa’.
Additional panels and sessions across the week will also explore ‘The Art of the Music Video’, as well as an in depth discussion on the BBC Children’s initiative, Inform, Educate, Animate. There will also be Industry Excellence sessions on ‘Storyboarding’ and ‘Character Design’, as well as Skwigly Online Animation Magazine presenting a selection of films from its animation community.
MAF’s family day is back for 2023 and will include festival favourites such as the BBC Box Set, dedicated family screenings and events, as well as workshops from Claymation and LEGO Stop Motion. Revealing the secrets behind creating beloved characters and teaching children how to draw some of their favourite characters from the show. The Young Animator of the Year UK Awards also return this year for animators aged 11-18 from all across the UK.
Once again hosted by National Comedy Awards 2023 nominee, comedian and actor Amy Gledhill, MAF will hold their annual awards ceremony on Thursday 17th November at 8pm at HOME Cinema, Manchester.
This year’s Film Awards, which is the festival’s international film competition, will have categories of Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Children’s Film, Best Commissioned Film, Best Immersive Film and new for this year, ‘Best British Film’. As previously announced, for the first time in 2023, the winner of the Short Film category at the MAF Awards 2023 will automatically qualify for Oscar Academy Award © consideration. Across the festival there will be 103 different short films from 26 different countries representing the very best animated short films from across the world.
The yearly Industry Excellence Awards, which recognise individuals working in industry in the fields of writing, storyboarding, character design and character animation, will also take place during the awards ceremony.
MAF’s Industry Day has been renamed for 2023 to The Animation Nation Forum, covering industry topics. Taking place on Thursday 16th November, sessions will include a yet-to-be announced industry keynote, a focus on the state of play within animation from a panel packed with industry heavyweights, as well as a dedicated panel to A.I plus pitching surgeries.
Festival Director Steve Henderson said:
“It’s been a big, exciting year for MAF with news of our Oscar Qualifying status and the momentum hasn’t stopped! Myself and the team are delighted to be bringing the world of animation to Manchester this November and presenting some of the best films from across the world and giving our audiences the chance to hear from the best people in the world of animation! We look forward to welcoming audiences to Manchester to see something amazing.”
