Life since lockdown

In my last post I wrote about the screenings at Strangelove Festival that were scheduled to take place and that had to move online once lockdown came into force at the end of March. Many live events, screenings and exhibitions that had been a long time in the making for 2020 were postponed indefinitely, some were moved to online platforms instead, and some were sadly cancelled.

Here’s a round up of what I’ve been up to virtually over the last few months and where you can see the films and panels mentioned. This is a reminder to myself more than anything that life hasn’t stood still during lockdown:

30 March, London Animation Club TV – speaking about the process of making Nude Triumphant with creators Leo Crane and Roy Joseph Butler

8 May, launched Elizabeth Hobbs’ I’m OK on Vimeo with a Vimeo Staff Pick and features on CartoonBrew and Short of the Week

2 June, invited to participate in Animated in Poland at Krakow Film Festival and meet the creators of projects in post-production in my role as Short Animation Programme at Edinburgh International Film Festival

8 June, participated at the Sheffield Doc/Fest Alternate Realities Talent Market with an AR documentary project in development

8 June, launched Animate Presents… programme at Strangelove Time Based Media Festival with a special screening on 13 June of Japan Gand Prix winning films from the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival

26 June, Elizabeth Hobbs’ The Flounder had its online launch on Vimeo and was featured on Cartoon Brew and Zippy Frames

2 July, presented the Accelerate Sessions: Female Figures panel discussion with artists Jessica Ashman, Anna Bunting-Branch, Birgitta Hosea and Michelle Kranot discussing working with performance and technology

20 July, spoke at a special event with long time collaborator Samantha Moore about our working process as part of the Royal College of Art MA Animation graduation show

4 August, Nude Triumphant screened as part of FilmPride Online Film Festival on Latest TV in the Brighton & Hove area, repeated on 11 August, and then as part of the main festival was online from 17 to 31 August

8 August, the launch of the Strangelove Time Based Media Festival online programme selected from an open call. I curated the Screen 2 programme (online till 20 September)

10 August, participated as a consultant/speaker at the ANIDOX:LAB 2020 workshop for creatives with animated documentary projects in development

20 August, Dominica Harrison’s Chado premiered at HIROSHIMA 2020 and then went on to screen later that week as part of the International Kansk Video Festival, where it was awarded second place in the Grand Prix competition

There’s more to come over the next few months, including the exhibition of Dominica’s film alongside the prints and character turnarounds made in the making of the film, that will be at Leicester Print Workshop from 12 September to 7 November in the exhibition Chado: Dreaming in Texture.

Image: Chado, Dominica Harrison