Edge of Frame Weekend 2018


Edge of Frame Weekend 2018
2nd – 4th March 2018

A unique three-day celebration of experimental animation, featuring innovative, visionary and risk-taking work in a packed programme of screenings and discussion. Premieres of new films mix with classics and rarely screened historical work, taking place across London at BFI Southbank, Barbican and Close-Up.

Curated by Edwin Rostron (Edge of Frame) with guest-curated programmes from Herb Shellenberger and Alexander Stewart, a retrospective of guest artist Peter Burr and an afternoon of talks illuminating the processes, histories and context of experimental animation, the Weekend presents an expansive insight into this vibrant artform.

The Edge of Frame Weekend 2018 is supported by Jerwood Charitable Foundation, Royal College of Art, and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

 Still from Longueur d’ondes (2013) by Sabrina Ratté

Between the Frames (Talks Event)
BFI Southbank, Friday 2nd March, 13:00 – 17:00
A series of talks on experimental animation by leading contemporary animators, academics and curators, discussing the histories, contexts and creative processes of this constantly evolving artform. Hosted by Gary Thomas (Animate Projects, British Council). Speakers: Jessica Ashman / Jonathan Hodgson / Lilly Husbands / Herb Shellenberger / Birgitta Hosea / Steve Reinke / Peter Burr
More information here + Tickets on sale here  (Combined ticket with Persistence of Vision available by phone booking only: 020 7928 3232)

Persistence of Vision + Filmmaker Q&A
BFI Southbank, Friday 2nd March, 18:15
The opening film programme of the Edge of Frame Weekend 2018 brings together a diverse selection of boundary-crossing independent and experimental animation from around the world, mixing brand new and recent work with classics and rarely-seen gems. From paper cut-outs to cutting edge digital animation, this programme displays the incredible ambition and vision of animated art. Curated by Edwin Rostron. A Q&A with several of the filmmakers follows the screening.
Full programme information here + Tickets on sale here (Combined ticket with Between the Frames available by phone booking only: 020 7928 3232)

Particles in Space + Filmmaker Q&A
Barbican, Saturday 3rd March, 12:00
Featuring work from 1958 to 2018, this programme explores ideas of space, line, shape and form, through an eclectic range of techniques. Formal abstraction mixes with the personal and fantastical, often within the same film. Celebrating the breadth and potential of experimentation in animation, the programme presents works by artists unafraid to push the medium into new territory. Curated by Edwin Rostron. A Q&A with several of the filmmakers follows the screening.
Full programme information here + Tickets on sale here
Multibuy ticket for both Barbican programmes available here

Labyrinths: The Films of Peter Burr + Filmmaker Q&A
Barbican, Saturday 3rd March, 13:50
The deeply immersive films of Peter Burr conjure an extraordinary vision of a digitised future. Characters explore uncharted realms, vast architectural structures and post-apocalyptic environments hovering on the boundary between abstraction and figuration, ready to dissolve into pure pattern and rhythm at any point. Working across short films, gallery installations, performance and virtual reality, Peter Burr is at the forefront of contemporary animation practice. Peter will be present for a Q&A following the screening.
Full programme information here + Tickets on sale here
Multibuy ticket for both Barbican programmes available here

Bend Me, Shape Me: The Animated Body  
with introduction by curator Herb Shellenberger
Close-Up, Saturday 3rd March, 19.30
Though all forms of animation push and pull at anatomical correctness, artists working with animation have explored its potential to morph, transform and bend the body in ways that have wide-ranging and sometimes unexpected implications. This screening features work from the last five decades which explores how through representing bodies—or specifically their own bodies—artists exploit animation’s remove from reality to comment on very real subjects, including sexuality, gender, violence and trauma, in ways that can variously provoke, titillate and horrify. Introduced by curator Herb Shellenberger.
Full programme information here + Tickets on sale here

Made At CalArts: Experimental Animation, 1974 – Present 
with introduction by curator Alexander Stewart
Close-Up, Sunday 4th March, 18:00
This programme features a selection of experimental animation work made at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), from the programme’s foundation in the early 1970’s through the present day. With a focus on the aesthetic innovation, unrestrained spirit, and emphasis on personal vision that have defined CalArts in its 45 years of existence, the lineup includes eccentric cartoons, cosmic psychedelia, existential crises, subtle studies in textural abstraction, and stroboscopic reveries. These films represent an approach to animation that is by turns ambitious, introspective, joyful, and imaginative: uniquely and distinctively CalArts. Introduced by curator Alexander Stewart (CalArts Experimental Animation Faculty / Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation).
Full programme information here + Tickets on sale here

Voyages Elsewhere + Filmmaker Q&A
Close-Up, Sunday 4th March, 20:00
The final screening programme of the Weekend explores the outer limits; traveling into the far reaches of the imagination and out to celestial bodies. With films pushing at the boundaries of what is real or unreal, micro or macro, animated or non-animated; these works weave together fragments of images into webs of clues, hinting at what is ‘beyond.’ Curated by Edwin Rostron.
Full programme information here + Tickets on sale here