Stop-motion animation is to be celebrated at Ireland’s first festival of the artform to be held in Connemara this summer, from August 29 to 30.
Frame Fest will take place at Stiúideo Fia’s facilities in Lettermore, County Galway.
The studio is the base of artist and educator Paul McDonnell who will curate film screenings, artist talks, hands-on workshops and creative events.
Artists connected to leading studios including Aardman Animations, MacKinnon & Saunders, Telegael, Nexus Studios and Elk Studios will share insights into the making of some of the world’s most distinctive animated films.
“Stop-motion has always fascinated me because it’s such a hands-on craft – part animation, part theatre, part filmmaking. It’s also a community of people constantly learning from each other,” says McDonnell. “Frame Fest is simply about creating a space where that community can come together and share their love of this wonderfully unusual craft.”
Festival highlights include curated stop-motion short film screenings, a feature screening of Captain Morten and the Spider Queen, an Irish-language stop-motion screening for children and families, puppet-making and animation workshops, a sketch and walk in the Connemara landscape and an optional early morning Atlantic sea swim for festival participants.
International guest speakers will include leading artists from across the industry. Richard Pickersgill (MacKinnon & Saunders ) will present a talk on high-end puppet fabrication, including insight into techniques used on productions such as Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. Séamus Malone (Aardman Animations ) will share his experience directing the internationally acclaimed Shaun the Sheep.
Festival audiences will also have the opportunity to see and meet professional stop-motion puppets up close, offering a rare insight into the craft behind characters such as Pinocchio and Shaun the Sheep.
Frame Fest will also present four awards celebrating excellence in stop-motion: Best Stop-Motion Short, Excellence in Craft and Process, Spirit of Stop-Motion and the TG4 Best Irish Language Stop-Motion Award, supported by TG4.
A call for film submissions is open now via Film Freeway, with a deadline of Monday, May 25.
Frame Fest is supported by the National Talent Academy Animation, Animation Ireland, Comhairle Ceantar na nOileán, Ardán, TG4, Telegael, Elk Studios, Muintearas, Aardman Studios, Mackinnon and Saunders, Nukufilm, and Pota.
Frame Fest is a free event, but registration is required as places are limited.
