The Brighton International Animation Festival scheduled for Friday 4th to Sunday 6th April 2025, marking its fourth annual celebration of animation in the coastal city, is placing its LGBTQ+ programme at the centre of activities. The festival, which received BAFTA accreditation last year, is one of only four BAFTA qualifying animation festivals in the UK.
The festival will be held at Fabrica and will feature a variety of programmes, including the new Fantastical Worlds and East Asian Panorama, which will highlight emerging talents from Japan, China, and other East Asian countries. Other segments include New Generation, showcasing the best graduates in the field, and an annual LGBTQ+ programme. This makes the Brighton International Animation Festival unique, as it is the only UK animation festival that embraces queer narratives as a central theme. Furthermore, it will be the only festival in the UK to include an Augmented Reality exhibition, titled Heroes, where a diverse range of characters, from bees to plumbers, will come alive on the venue's walls.
To ensure inclusivity, all films will be subtitled, and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters will be present at all screening events, making the festival accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
The Female Gaze programme aims to subvert the traditional concept of the Male Gaze, presenting films that explore the female experience through the perspectives of female directors. This selection will encompass various forms, including documentaries and experimental films from nations such as Saudi Arabia, India, and the UK.
Meanwhile, the East Asian Panorama will present outstanding works from East Asian artists and the diaspora, covering narratives on familial themes and festive celebrations from countries like China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.
For more detailed information regarding the event, ticket purchasing, and updates go to brightoninternationalanimationfestival.com.
Source: Noah Wire Services