The Cambridge Animation Festival 1983

The Student Programmes gave a good idea of the up and coming talents in our colleges. They ranged from HOLIDAY ON DEATH ROW by Janet Beecham, which was little more than paintings illustrating the words of a Roger McGough poem to a pilot for a feature film with full cel animation, 1884 directed by Dennis de Groot and Tim Olive at the National Film and Television School.

GALLERY by Mark Fuller.

Liverpool Polytechnic has developed a ‘Liverpool style’ of animation which consists of quickly drawn pencil animation in what could be described as sketch book style. An example of this is GALLERY by Mark Fuller. It shows a young man visiting an art gallery. The pictures on the screen are simple but always lively. CHRISTMAS FOR SALE by lain Mccall shows the same interest in observing people engaged in various leisure activities, in this case getting ready for Christmas.

CHRISTMAS FOR SALE by lain McCall.

NIGHT CLUB by Jonathan Hodgson also has the Liverpool style. It opens with a very impressive tracking sequence starting high above a house and circling down through a doorway into the cellar club.

SHREDNI VASHTAR by Liz Spencer is drawn in coloured pencil on white Perspex. It is animated by rubbing out parts and redrawing them. It is one of those films where the hard work shows on the screen. The drawing technique is first class. The story concerns a boy and his pet ferret.

SHREDNI VASHTAR by Liz Spencer.

WHO EXPLOITS WHOM by Charlotte Worthington puts into pictures the moral problem that if prostitution is wrong who is at fault, women or men. It was funded by Pictures of Women.

WHO EXPLOITS WHOM by Charlotte Worthington. P.O.W. 83.

DREAMLAND EXPRESS by David Anderson creates a dreamlike world with multi—plane animation using a mixture of styles. A small boy is roused from sleep and takes a train journey. It is a BAFTA winner 1983.

DREAMLAND EXPRESS by David Anderson.

THE THREE KNIGHTS by Mark Baker is a super film. The knights think they are doing good deeds but in fact everything they touch goes horribly wrong. It is the sort of idea I wish I had thought of first.

THE FRIDGE D’OR by Alastair Taylor has a simple story line of a man waking up and going to the fridge. However it is a beautifully crafted film that turns a simple routine into a struggle for existence.

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Originally printed in Animator’s newsletter Issue 7 (Winter 1983)