Family Animation Workshop - FREE event
Saturday 29 October 10.30am - 12.30pm
Venue: Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street

Bring your ideas to life in this hands-on 2D animation workshop for children and families. Advance booking recommended due to limited places.

Children under 8 years need to be accompanied by an adult.

Teachers’ Animation Workshops
Saturday 29 October 10.30am - 5.00pm
Venue: Light House

Teachers are invited to spend the day with qualified, experienced animators at Light House, learning animation techniques with 3D clay models and computers. The sessions will be practical, informative and fun.

Cost: £35 (including lunch and refreshments). Advance booking essential. Contact Kathryn Beattie on 01902 716055 kathryn@light-house.co.uk

This event has been part-organised by the specialist status Media Arts Centre based at Thomas Adams School in Shropshire.

FLIPPERS: Screening of Young People’s Animation - FREE event
Saturday 29 October 2.30 - 3.30pm and 3.45 - 4.45pm (2 screenings)
Venue: Light House, Cinema 1

This event will showcase a range of animation work produced by children and young people in the region, ranging from primary school to sixth form age and including specially commissioned educational projects produced by Light House.

This event has been part-organised by the specialist status Media Arts Centre based at Thomas Adams School in Shropshire. Advance booking essential.

Screening: Howl’s Moving Castle (U)
Saturday 29 October 1.00 - 3.15pm and 5.30 - 7.40pm (2 FLIP screenings)
Venue: Light House, Studio Cinema

The latest offering from animation genius Miyazaki Hayao. Based on the novel of the same title by the British children's author Diana Wynne Jones, Howl concerns the trials of the unassuming young hat-maker Sophie as she attempts to break the spell of the envious Witch of the Waste, who has turned her into a stooped old lady. Enter the vain and flighty young magician Howl, or rather his moving castle - a magnificent, vast contraption capable of being in several places at once.

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki Japan 2004 English language dubbed version.

BBFC Advice: contains mild peril.

Industry Panel: Animator’s Survival Guide to the Midlands
Saturday 29 October 3.45 - 4.45pm
Venue: Light House, Studio Cinema

Are you a new graduate or an animator based in the midlands wondering if there is life outside London? Would you like to stay and work in the region? DON’T PANIC. This panel will explore the options available to you. The session will introduce a number of practicing animators who have managed to make it in the midlands and who can pass on valuable insights and experiences.

Babel Fish image courtesy Rod Lord.

Screening: AIR
Saturday 29 October 5.00 - 6.15pm
Venue: Light House, Cinema 1

The AIR (Animator in Residency) Scheme, funded by Channel 4 and based at the National Museum of Photography, Film & TV, supports the creative development work of talented animation graduates, with a particular focus on the craft of the discipline. This screening will showcase recent work from the scheme and will be followed by a Q&A with some of the animators and the scheme co-ordinator.

Student Competition Screening
Saturday 29 October 7.15 - 8.45pm
Venue: Light House, Cinema 1

This screening will showcase the 18 short-listed films submitted by Staffordshire University, the University of Wolverhampton and the University of Central England. The screening will be followed by an announcement of the winners. This year’s judges include Ruth Fielding, Channel 4 consultant and NESTA talent scout, local animation studio Screenburn Ltd, Nicola Scurlock from PS Creative, animation director Chris Randall, and Sam Hope from Exposure Animation.

Screening: ESTINGS & FLIP Party
Saturday 29 October 8.45pm - late
Venue: Light House Bar, Gallery & Cinema 1

E4 and Creative Review invited up and coming talent to surprise, delight and make them fear for their sanity with ESTINGS 3. The results of this competition can be seen at this special festival premiere which will showcase the winner and the 24 short-listed submissions. This year’s winner, Olly Reid, has since been commissioned by E4 to make a series of idents and animations for the station.