Manchester Animation 2019 Festival Line-Up Revealed

Back in the summer, Manchester Animation Festival, the UK's largest animation festival, announced that for its fifth year it would be expanding to a full five days.  This year's MAF will run from November 10-14, With the event just around the corner, the organisers have announced this year's line-up.

The festival will open on November 10 with Family Day featuring screenings and events geared towards children and families. The Educating Animators Conference will take place on November 11 at The University Of Salford, Manchester

The main festival takes place November 12-14 at Home, Manchester. 205 films, from 28 different countries will be screening in competition in Short Films, Student Films, Commissioned Films and Immersive categories. The festival will also include the Industry Excellence Awards, celebrating the best in Character Design, Scriptwriting, Storyboarding and Character Animation.

In features, the line-up will include a screening of Aardman's  A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, which will be accompanied by a making-of presentation from co-director Will Belcher.  Latvian family adventure Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs will also screen, and there will be a rare chance to catch Steven Universe: The Movie on a big screen.

The preview screenings include Hungarian thriller Ruben Brandt, Collector, acclaimed Spanish drama  Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles and the eagerly anticipated Swallows Of Kabul.

Masterclasses include a look behind the scenes of upcoming Netflix feature Klaus, a presentation from The Red Turtle's Michael Dudok de Wit and How To Develop An Animated TV Series with staff from the award-winning studio Blue Zoo.

There's also an impressive line-up of panels and Q&A sessions. Making It In Manchester looks at what makes England's second city one of the nation's premier animation hotspots. In The Frame looks at diversity and inclusion in the industry. Animated Answers is an industry-centric Q&A session in association with Brown Bag Films. Others include How To Make The Perfect Showreel and The A-Z of An Animation Department.

The festival will also feature Networking events and the ever-popular Skwigly Quiz.

Tickets and passes are now on sale. Visit the festival website for full details.