International Student Animation Festival
International Student Animation Festival
One Ticket – All Day
Six Screenings
Six Talks
Building on the success of last year’s ‘inaugural’ ISAF, we’ve reached deeper for films to screen, searched wider for speakers and panellists for the talks, and even formed partnerships with overseas festivals to loop in the widest possible range of work. This year there will be even more choices on offer but the core idea of staging it as a one-day/one-ticket, build-your-own-schedule sits at the core of ISAF.
We’re working hard behind the scenes to lock in speakers and guests as well as looking for the best ways to incorporate the treasure chest of emerging animator’s works that our partnership with Europe’s ‘Festival Animation Network’ will be sending our way shortly so stay tuned for updates in this space – this is just the tip of the iceberg.
CHOOSE YOUR OWN SCHEDULE
Jump to a program
International Student Competition Program #1
International Student Competition Program #2
International Student Competition Program #3
International Student Competition Program #4
International Student Competition Program #5
International Student Competition Program #6
Conversation #1: The Sound Of A Scarecrow – Kyden Hurst, Rafael Zoitis
Conversation #2: Working In Two Worlds – Mawrgan Shaw
Conversation #3: The Making of “Cycle Of Life” – Amit Barkani
Conversation #4: Aardman And An On-Going Journey – “Prey” by Pax Nelson
Conversation #5: There’s No “I” in Surreal… Or Is There? – “Liver” by Chris Aubrey
Conversation #6: [to be confirmed]
International Student Competition Program #1
Catch That Fish!
Florent Delay, Ilona Laouchez, Hector De Ghaisne De Bournmont, Julia Ragot, André Yu, Gabrielle Montané
France, 6’25, 2025
Little Naya turns to her favourite fishing show to help her reel in the ultimate catch – her absent father.
Piano On The Cliff
Valeriia Sobolevski
Russia, 5’00, 2025
A musician playing the piano on a cliff has to fend off a shape-shifting cat that is trying to destroy his music.
Ruminations
Desiree Head
New Zealand, 3’56, 2026
Our little anti-hero knows there’s a better life out there and step one is to quit his job.
It Hurts!
Anastasiia Petrova
Russia, 4’29, 2025
Everything hurts, from the bottom to the top, every part of her body! It’s driving her insane! But the doctors aren’t listening.
Cycle Of Life
Amit Barkani
Israel, 7’00, 2025
Jeff involuntarily goes on a journey through the ‘Cycle of Life’ in order to get an apple for his friend the horse.
Ablaze
Munan Yin
China, 1’17, 2025
A fascinating experimental animation exploring the sensory experiences offered by light being beamed through a fusion of various visual media.
Counterclockwise
Zsofia Osztos
Hungary, 6’42, 2025
To cope with his insomnia, a man returns to his childhood home to face his past.
International Student Competition Program #2
Paper Lotus
Fu Meijo
Singapore, 7’31, 2025
As Amero watches a protest get violently suppressed, he confronts his own inaction and the grim realities that surround him.
Zephyranthes
Hao-Yuan Bo
Taiwan, 4’23, 2025
A scientist enslaves his AI creation, Zephyranthes, in the forest; but will this creation choose redemption or revenge in response?
The Crown
Lau Kwong Piu
Hong Kong, 3’50, 2025
One day, an uninvited dragon arrives, and is mistaken for a thief by a guardian robot.
Fructus Fliegus
Emilia Zieser
Germany, 4’58, 2025
After a fruit fly flies into her roommate’s eye, our heroine sets off on a journey through her friend’s brain to remove the intruder.
Finite
Yi-Ping Lee
Taiwan, 5’27, 2025
A delivery rider on a flying bike sparks a skyline chase, forcing him to rethink work, family, and his connection to reality.
Me And You And Smoke
Rachel Shiloach
UK, 7’45, 2025
As a fire ignites before him, a boy’s fantasies about a girl dissolve into a haunting reality he can’t escape.
International Student Competition Program #3
The Sandwich Is Good, I Don’t Want To Die
A. Hlagund, M. La Casta Aramburu, E. Lasseigne, S. Rapin, L. Toupance
France, 5’00, 2025
Before everything, there was nothing. A radiant, quiet nothing! Don’t you find that appealing? Philosophy and lunch all wrapped up together.
More Than Magic
Catherine Jiang
New Zealand, 4’30, 2025
Luna and her witch mother, Myradia, navigate the complexities of family and love as best they can.
When Ocean Rises
Yongxin Wang
Germany, 6’16, 2025
A polar bear, a penguin, and a dog fight over a house, unaware that rising sea levels are swamping everything.
Stone Growth
Jokubas Rimkus
Germany, 7’22, 2026
In a world of ever-growing stones a boy lives with his grandmother in a garden house, until one day they face the ultimate challenge.
Telephone Game
Laura Boráros
Czech Republic, 1’45, 2024
A unique piece of choreography, drafting in the humble telephone as a front-and-centre prop.
ˌaɪs ˈkriːm, aɪ skriːm
Nataliia Domini
A kooky, apparently existential crisis is playing out down by the ice cream truck.
International Student Competition Program #4
The City Of Silence
M. Cornemillot, M. Finet, A. Garde, M. Girouard, M. Laporte
France, 7’34, 2025 [ESMA]
In the city of silence sometimes it pays to listen to the noise.
Banana Ninja
S. Charles, C. Derieux, J. Faure, C. Tawale, G. Vaneecloo
France, 7’24, 2025 [ArtFX]
In feudal Japan, populated by fruit and vegetables, Citron Sensei prepares his apprentice Banana Ninja for his final mission.
Aphelion
Y. Col, E. Girod, L. Stasse, V. Toscanelli
France, 6’04, 2025 [ArtFX]
June and Micah, lifelong friends, have always shared their passion but a looming decision threatens what they once took for granted
Where Love Lied
G. Chalmet, E. Guinet-Elmi, S. Hatef, S. Kumar, J. Kidangan, O. Leriche, L. Maestracci, V.H. Nguyen, M. Vanderweyen
France, 8’08, 2025 [ESMA]
Two worried dogs drive through a dark, film-noir-like night towards a moment of existential understanding for each of them.
Do Not Disturb
E. Arbona, T. de Courville, E. Handjian, C. Rault, A. Vincent, C. Vives–Ginies
France, 4’44, 2025 [ArtFX]
Iso and Shutter, a couple of wild ermines, lead a peaceful life in the meadow until Walter, an overly intrusive wildlife reporter, abruptly forces his way into their lives.
International Student Competition Program #5
Master Of Chords
K. Bengrine, E. Malgras, Mei Linda Pichetto, J. Pitot de la Beaujardiere, P. Pradal
France, 6’05, 2025 [ArtFX]
A helpful little spider helps Gaelle recover from a failed audition, and sets her on an alternative path to success.
Gone Wrong
M. Arnould, A. Butel, A. Colombe, Y. Dinguidar, A.l. Jerome, J. Houel, R. Saunier, A. Villeda
France, 6’27, 2025 [ESMA]
It turns out the real world is ill-prepared for an invasion of game character fugitives.
Cursed
M. Boitelle, L. Bouguerch, M. Brandao Serseri, A. Daniel, M. Deculty, A. Mamessier Degrange, N. Paoli, A. Pigerol, M. Seve
France, 8’12, 2025 [ESMA]
Long ago, the crystal of philosophy had the power to foretell the destinies of all new-born things.
Blossom
Creative Seeds Student Group
France, 5’40, 2025 [Creative Seeds]
Down in the insect kingdom a new hero emerges
Et Apres
C. Raffin, A. Collin, L. Baux, B. Nguyen, N. Delory, N. Petit
France, 5’50, 2025 [MOPA]
The trail runner’s misadventure had only one witness; the glacier she thought she could cross.
International Student Competition Program #6
Grip
Y. Harraca, A. Lopez-Raulin, L. Mugnier-Bajat, M. Raoul
France, 4’17, 2025 [ArtFX]
Ollie, a passionate young skateboarder, practises alone in an abandoned shopping mall, where she faces her own failures and self doubts – but her skateboard is on her side.
Orchid Square
A. Padmanaban,A. Mainetti, E. Hattenberger, H. Wong, I. Benacer-Gaud, L. Giraud, M. Metivier, S. Landais, T. Chernichenko
France, 7’11, 2025 [ESMA]
For better – and sometimes for worse – life is different in the club.
Wisdom Tooth
A. Barbetti, L. Pons, Z. Deleersnyder, E. Greze, N. Fanfant, R. Gimenez, P. Ridel, I. Constantinou, E. Sornin
France, 7’55, 2025 [ESMA]
It takes more than losing a tooth to gain wisdom.
The Way
L. Duchold, B. Legrand, H. Leroy, S. Marquant, C. Portelette, P. Vigier
France, 4’31, 2025 [ESMA]
In the attic above a dilapidated alleyway a little DIY owl, not yet able to fly, wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps and prove her worth.
Dubious Garden On The Beauty Of Things
L.M. Xuân Codet, M. Tetuanui, M. Aprin, C. Bègue, N. Butz
France, 5’09, 2025 [MOPA]
Dubious gardens are being grown in a strange space, and their gardener will have to fight for their beauty.
The Devil’s Blues
E. Anelli, E. Bobineau, K. Eidukaite, A. Haplieznick-Bakha
France, 3’31, 2025 [ArtFX]
In 1932 Harlem, aspiring jazz trumpeter Ethel Franklin struggles to get her foot in the door.
Conversation #1: The Sound Of A Scarecrow – Kyden Hurst, Rafael Zoitis
The film “Scarecrow” closed the Australian Student Showcase with plenty of fire and brimstone. Devoid of dialogue, it leans heavily on high-energy, ever-changing visuality, and an outstanding ‘perfect-fit’ soundtrack, to bring to the screen the tumultuous inner world of its protagonist and his various adversaries. Kyden, the film’s director, and Rafael, the artist responsible for the music that brought it to life, will explain how they wove their magic to lift the film to its ‘next-level’ status.
Conversation #2: Working In Two Worlds – Mawrgan Shaw
Mawrgan Shaw’s latest film “Tortoise” screened in the Australian Showcase. She is an Australian-Canadian visual artist. While she earned a Masters of Digital Film from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Media & Communications from Swinburne University of Technology, she is also a member of the Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS), and has made animated music videos for American, British and German artists. In an increasingly interconnected world, this comfort with working across borders speaks to the universal nature of animation. Mawrgan will discuss the challenges and opportunities of this approach, and talk about how her artistic practice has evolved to make it possible.
Conversation #3: The Making of “Cycle Of Life” – Amit Barkani
Amit Barkani’s film “Cycle Of Life” screens in ISAF Program #1 (1:00pm). Its beating heart is a whip-smart script packed full of wonderful moments of laconic, surrealist humour. Visually, it pushes stretch, squash and perspective to the boundaries of the frame. Part buddy-movie, part existential reflection, it is the kind of film that uses all the unique properties of animation to great effect. We will talk to Amit and try to find out how “Cycle Of Life” got from thought bubble to finished film, and where that journey might be taking her.
Conversation #4: Aardman And An On-Going Journey – “Prey” by Pax Nelson
Pax Nelson is a multidisciplinary artist who specialises in stop motion animation, puppetry, and prop fabrication. A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts in 2022, in 2024 Pax got the chance to study and make a film at the Aardman Academy – and “Prey” is the result. “Prey” (screened in International Program #4 Thursday & Sunday) contains a wonderfully dark and moody patina, with a storyline that weaves in a sense of the macabre. It’s an intriguing and early window into a career that shows all the signs of many twists and turns to come as the journey progresses. With Pax visiting MIAF to share their film in person, this presented a great opportunity to get to know them.
Conversation #5: There’s No “I” in Surreal… Or Is There? – “Liver” by Chris Aubrey
Surrealism and animation are practically made for each other. If you can imagine it then, with animation, you can show it. And people with the surrealism gene can imagine some pretty incredible stuff. Often the institutional demand for ‘narrative structure’ and systematic project development can squeeze the surrealist juice out of a student project that otherwise might have wanted to go down that road. But every once and a while one slips through – and Chris Aubrey’s “Liver” is Exhibit A, screened in the Australian Student Showcase. Our conversation with Chris will delve into the surrealist DNA of his films but, just like his work, will likely travel its own course.
Conversation #6
To be confirmed
All sessions are classified: Unclassified (M) Mature, not recommended for viewers under 15 years.
Please note that Backlot is NOT fully accessible. There are stairs with handrails, but no lift to the second floor where the cinema is located.