As a long-time animation fan, there are few things I find more exciting than a festival dedicated entirely to the medium. The UK is home to several strong animation-focused events, but Cardiff Animation Festival—running this year, 23rd – 26th April, with the online programme —remains one of the most anticipated and respected on the calendar. With four days of talks, workshops, screenings, and more, it offers something for everyone – whether you’re an animator seeking new connections or a fan eager to discover standout work. That said, festivals can be overwhelming. Every attendee approaches them differently, building schedules around their own priorities. Where we can help, however, is in highlighting the films—particularly the shorts—worth seeking out.
We’ve already spotlighted several titles screening at this year’s festival in our previous Best of Fest coverage – including Ima Wa Ima, How to Build a Sand Castle, TV or the Disturbance on Forest Hill Road, Detlev, and Larval – so we won’t revisit those here. Instead, here are ten shorts that felt entirely fresh to us at the festival. Each points to an exciting voice in animation, and all are filmmakers we’ll be watching closely moving forward.
Check – Anita Gill
Portraying the control a disorder like OCD can have over someone’s life is never easy. For animator Anita Gill, the challenge is not only met but condensed into under 90 seconds with Check, a film that immerses its audience in cycles of repetition and escalating anxiety through striking, rhythmic animation. As dials are turned, switches slid, and buttons pressed, we begin to understand the compulsions that shape the experience of living with OCD. The film builds this sense of urgency through repetition and precision, drawing the viewer into its controlled, almost mechanical world. Yet Check is equally defined by its design sensibility and pacing – its pulsating edit and complementary visual language ensure that, while tension and unease permeate the film, what lingers just as strongly is Gill’s eye for design and her ability to translate emotion into form.
CLAWS – Nim Longley
The micro-shorts that punctuate Cardiff Animation Festival’s screenings might just be my favourite aspect of their programming. If you assume that these 90(ish)-second films lack the impact of their longer counterparts, Nim Longley’s CLAWS is one of many ready to prove otherwise. A rhythmic reimagining of a classic cat-and-bird chase, the film uses cut-out collage animation to deliver one of the most visually striking entries in the line-up. At just 60 seconds, it’s over almost as soon as it begins – but that brevity is part of its charm. This is the kind of short that practically demands an immediate second viewing!
DUCKS – AJ Jefferies
Not content with making one of my favourite short shorts of all-time in H O R S E (a film that never fails to make me laugh!), AJ Jefferies returns with more CG animal weirdness in his latest short film DUCKS. What at first looks like a family-friendly Pixar-style animation soon descends into something much more twisted. Although you get a sense early on that something isn’t right, the constant reveals in DUCKS make for a truly satisfying viewing experience and honestly, it’s just rare to find something that makes you laugh so much, in such a short period of time.
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Foreign Bodies – Lysander Wong
Few sensations are as universally recognisable as an itch you simply have to scratch. In Foreign Bodies, Lysander Wong captures this impulse with striking intensity, crafting a textured body horror short that uses cut-out animation to render its themes visceral and immediate. The film’s inventive use of perspective is particularly effective, with sequences that feel as though the protagonist – or something else – might burst from the screen and into the real world. For anyone still clinging to the notion that animation is only for children, a single viewing of Foreign Bodies – especially for those uneasy around bugs or needles – should quickly dispel that idea.
Polliwog – Julia Skala
A welcome hug of a film, Julia Skala’s Polliwog combines sun-drenched animation with a heartfelt story about change and how to embrace it. While the narrative centres on a young girl entering puberty, there’s a universality to the storytelling that allows it to resonate more broadly – whether these experiences lie ahead or feel long since passed. Much of the film’s appeal, however, lies in its aesthetic. From its playful character design to richly inviting backgrounds, the visuals feel warm and immersive, perfectly complementing the emotional arc of the story and enhancing its sense of tenderness and transformation.
Sans Voix (Voiceless) – Samuel Patthey
Presented in a sketchbook-like, vignette structure, Samuel Patthey’s ambitious short Voiceless plunges the audience into a relentless party world alongside its protagonist, Dan. On the surface, it can feel like a series of fleeting glimpses into his life, but as the threads begin to connect, a more compelling narrative emerges – one of a young man trapped in repetition, in need of something to break the cycle. In this case, that disruption comes in the unexpected form of a baby. This is the third film I’ve seen from Patthey, and he continues to stand out as an animator with a distinctive ability to capture the rhythms of everyday life and elevate them into something more profound and resonant. If you haven’t come across his earlier work – Travelogue Tel Aviv and Écorce – they’re well worth seeking out.
Silent Panorama – Nicolas Piret
While the story behind a film shouldn’t necessarily enhance its perceived quality, it’s hard to view Silent Panorama in quite the same way once you learn that Nicolas Piret drew and animated it on a single sheet of paper. What might initially sound like a gimmick is, in Piret’s hands, closer to a performative act – one that adds a compelling layer to the viewing experience. The film’s impact resides in its careful use of stillness and scale. Initially focused on a small tent, the narrative gradually expands outward across a vast landscape, evolving into both a pursuit sequence and a meditation on “the ways in which people occupy the places that used to belong to nature.”
Speeding, of Course – Anni Sairio & Joonatan Turkki
A narratively simple film – the story of 70-year-old Timo and his short bike ride to work – Speeding, of Course might only be four-minutes long but it’s absolutely packed with joy. Brought to the screen through charming cut-out animation as we follow the short’s lead character on his travels, we’re not only reminded of the freedom associated with cycling, but also of the magic of animation. Although the film spends almost its entirety as a close-up on Timo’s face, Anni Sairio & Joonatan Turkki provide their audience with a transportive experience as the backgrounds transition from internal to external. It’s the kind of film that will either inspire you to jump on your bike or take up animation.
The Eating of an Orange – May Kindred-Boothby
A surreal and sensual exploration of sexuality told through kinetic, abstract animation, May Kindred-Boothby takes their viewers on a beautifully choreographed journey through a world dominated by expectations and ritual. As we’re initially immersed in this universe through intrigue and rhythm, throughout the film’s seven-minute run-time, its director adds a vital emotional element, making their viewers invest in its central character and adding another layer of engagement (and complexity) to an already mesmerising watch.
The Sky Was Candy – Anh Tú Nguyen
Sporting an incredible phenakistoscope-inspired aesthetic, you’d be forgiven for expecting Anh Tú Nguyen’s short to be style over substance, but there’s surprising emotional impact in this three-minute film that means it resonates beyond its impressive style. Inspired by a memory from the director’s childhood, when they found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest, The Sky Was Candy has a carefree bounce to its storytelling that contrasts perfectly with the existential twist it has in its story. There’s certainly more to this tale than initially meets the eye.
You can find more unmissable films like these in our Best of Fest collections.
