The event will showcase a hybrid program of animated nostalgia, cult classics, and new projects; takes place in-person May 17–18 and online May 17 – June 1.
The Cardiff Animation Weekender event will showcase a hybrid program of animated nostalgia, cult classics, and new projects. Across screenings, talks, workshops, and socials, audiences can get involved in discussions, reconnect, meet new friends, and create.
Film screenings include the Don Bluth dino classic The Land Before Time; a Feather’s McGraw double bill, Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers and Vengeance Most Fowl; coming-of-age story Boys Go To Jupiter; the new anime feature Ghost Cat Anzu; and the cult classic Welsh fantasy Y Dywysoges a’r Bwgan (The Princess and the Goblin).
Oska Bright’s is a best of fest showcase of unique voices, styles and themes, while the Cardiff Quick Draw Shorts sees teams across the globe take on the impossible goal of making an animated film in a single weekend.
John R. Dilworth will attend to celebrate 25 years of Cartoon Network cult classic Courage the Cowardly Dog, from the first pitch to its legacy with today’s generation of animation fans. Chris Shepherd will share his nostalgic debut graphic novel “Anfield Road” in conversation with Hannah Lau Walker.
Interactive Workshops, including a hands-on stop-motion animation workshop with animator Helen Piercy, will utilize locally sourced fossils and traditional animation techniques to make a mini dinosaur film. The new event Sketch Showdown! will bring artists head-to-head in an epic on-stage cartoon memory battle. Local art and film group Sinema Colomendy will host a session of Dog Life Drawing at Corporation Yard. One Bum Cinema Club, possibly the smallest cinema in the world, returns to Chapter.
Cardiff Animation Nights will kick off the Weekender with a launch party at The Underdog bar in Cardiff City Centre.
“Cardiff Animation Weekender is an invitation to reconnect with your younger self,” said Cardiff Animation Festival director Lauren Orme. “With a programme full of stories about growing up, alongside some of the cartoons that raised us, it’s a space to watch films together, laugh, cry, and have great chats about them afterwards – with drinks in the dark, in the online chat box, or over a big shared lunch. We’ve designed the Weekender to be a welcoming, inclusive space for everyone – all about fun, community and connection.”
Talking on the theme of the Weekender, director of Manchester Animation Festival Dr. Steve Henderson said, “Nostalgia often blinds us, distorting the past—politicians use it to sell a past that never truly existed. Even if we could go back, we’d see it was never as perfect as they claim. But when it comes to animation, nostalgia offers a rare gift: the ability to see the past as it truly was.”
Every event at the festival will be captioned and BSL interpreted. All online screenings and events will also be captioned.
Day Passes, Weekend Passes, and tickets are now on sale.
Cardiff Animation Weekender is funded by Arts Council of Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales, has received funding and support from Welsh Government via Creative Wales, is supported by investment from Arts & Business Cymru, and is sponsored by University of South Wales, Cloth Cat, Twt Productions, Beryl Productions, Picl Animation and ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund with contributions from UK animation productions.
Source: Cardiff Animation Festival
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
