Manchester Animation Festival is the UK’s largest Animation Festival. We are a dedicated celebration of the animated art form.
Hosted at HOME in Manchester, the festival brings one of the UK’s biggest animation hubs together and invites the international community to join us to delight in all things animated; working with organisations such as Netflix, Disney, Apple, Aardman, Cartoon Saloon, Blue Zoo, Nickelodeon, the BBC and many more on special events and screenings. MAF is an Academy Award® and BAFTA qualifying film festival.
Animation is everywhere, from the smallest smart phone screen to the largest cinematic projection. Manchester Animation Festival unites artists, practitioners, students and enthusiasts and all those in between to savour the many and varied achievements of the animated form.
If you’re an animation insider or just want to see something unique, you don’t have to be an animation expert to join us for animated short competitions, feature films, retrospective screenings, workshops, networking events, panel discussions, masterclasses and screen talks from the industry’s finest.
Feature Films
Futures collide in this time-twisting thriller when an innocent and adventurous boy from the distant future crash-lands in the near future - not too far from us.
A dying prisoner reflects on his final summer of freedom in 1986. As death approaches, a flower guides him through the gut-wrenching memories of his past as a yakuza.
UK Premiere/ I Am Frankelda (PG)
As fiction and reality collide it is up to the resourceful Frankelda to use her inventive mind to curtail the monstrous ambitions hiding in her subconscious.
Special Preview/ In Your Dreams (PG) + making of event with director Alex Woo
A perfect family? Siblings who get along? Yeah… in your dreams. Stevie and Elliot journey into the absurd landscape of their own dreams.
Frida Kahlo is a little girl who is different. People of all ages will revel in this portrait of one of the world's most beloved artists.
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain (PG)
Follow Amélie's journey to becoming a little person in this beautiful, mature and oh so human depiction of the transition from infancy to childhood.
Love, loneliness and international espionage collide in this emotional thriller, telling the tale of two people searching for connection - in secret - in North Korea.
Before Mamoru Oshii's Ghost In The Shell came Angel's Egg. In this cult classic, a little girl takes care of a large egg which she believes was laid by an angel.
Preview/ Lesbian Space Princess (15)
A space princess is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens.
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (18)
Join us for this English language screening of the feature length version of Adult Swim’s first Spanish language original series, Women Wearing Shoulder Pads.
Shorts programme highlights
British Animated Short Films (15)
Join us for journey into the heart of contemporary British animation and experience a unique cinematic showcase.
Animation Mixtape Programmes 1 + 2 (15)
The best animated short films from around the globe playing in competition at MAF.
Talks, Workshops, and Panels
We'll be celebrating the legacy of Irish animation favourites Cartoon Saloon with our Fellowship award.
Industrial Light & Magic join us for a death star-sized retrospective celebrating their 50 years of ground breaking contributions to animation & visual effects.
Disney Animation will give audiences an exclusive look into the making of Zootropolis 2.
Magic Light give audiences an inside look at Scarecrow's Wedding, adapted from Julia Donaldson & Axel Sheffler's beloved book.
BBC Studios Kids & Family lift the curtain on new project Rafi the Wishing Wizard.
We have events from Adult Swim, BlackFrame, Aardman Animations, Animated Women UK, the return of the Skwigly Quiz, and many more!
We're also kicking off Manchester Animation Festival with Family Day. Sunday 9th is jam-packed with stop motion workshops, screenings from BBC Kids and Family (including a first look at the brand new show Duck And Frog), feature film Hola Frida and the Young Animator of the Year Awards!
Plus the UK's largest animation industry forum is back with the Animation Nation Forum, with exclusive opportunities to connect with industry titans, receive portfolio reviews and hear from industry insiders about career progression and inclusivity across the industry.
The MAF Marketplace also returns - a free, un-ticketed event that gives everyone the opportunity to talk directly to Industrial Light and Magic, Skydance Animation, Blue Zoo Animation and more.
