Festival Focus III:

A regular (and popular) feature of the ArtsFest film strand is the best of Flip Animation Festival. Taking place every October in Wolverhampton, Flip is the leading moving image festival in the Black Country. This year, as always, there’s some absolute crackers.

L’Uzine, Ou La Vengeance De Mr Staach [dir. Nicolas Diologent] (17min)
A little girl watches the sad life of her father. When she’s playing, she converts her father into an unconventional hero. Her game eerily echoes the reality…

The Astronomer’s Sun [dir. Simon Cartwright & Jessica Cope] (6min)
A young man, accompanied by his mysterious mechanical bear, visits an abandoned observatory to confront memories of his past and follow his father on a journey into the unknown. A magical journey about relationships and what it is to be human.

Little Skipper [dir. Elizabeth Hobbs] (1min)
Butterfly prints of European butterflies brought to life under a rostrum camera.

The Goat and the Well [dir. Ben Cady] (5min)
A showdown between a short-tempered woman and a very determined goat.

Urs [dir. Moritz Mayerhofer] (10min)
For many years Urs looked after his ageing mother. Now he sets out for a dangerous journey: he carries her up a mountain to find a better place for both of them. But his mother doesn’t want to leave her home…