Animate yourselves, Exeter!

Spring is kicking off with a bang this year, with the arrival of the 15th edition of Animated Exeter, running from the 10th to the 22nd February 2014. These twelve days will see Exeter buzzing with exciting and innovative screenings, workshops and exhibitions taking place all over the city. The hugely varied programme of events will appeal to people of all ages, and there is plenty for families to do together too.

This year, Animated Exeter is celebrating its new status as an international animation festival, screening competitive films from around the globe, including entries from the National Film Board of Canada, who are celebrating 75 years of some of the world's greatest animations, including the Norman McLaren archive. Michael Fukushima, executive producer of Animation Studio at the National Film Board will delve into these special archives to bring us some of the best films out of Canada, via a live link. Thanks to the huge amount of other competition entries, this will be a unique opportunity for cinema-goers to see a showcase of the world’s best animators.

The festival will start with School's Week, taking place from the 10th to the 14th February, curated by Filmclub, an educational charity helping transform young lives through film, and the British Council. Filmclub helps schools set up film clubs, providing students with the opportunity to watch films from all over the world. Screenings will take place at 9am on the 10th and 11th February at Exeter's VUE cinema, and are free to attend. Call 01392 270253 for more details, or visit the Filmclub website www.filmclub.org.

The weekend of the 14th to the 16th February will see the innovative production of LIGHSTREAM, a magical start to half-term and Valentine's Day with free outdoor projections along Fore Street on both evenings. The projections will be lighting up the independent shops, cafes and businesses at that end of town, accompanied by original music. This beautiful spectacle will be led by BAFTA award-winning artist and filmmaker, Tal Rosner, who has been working with students from animation courses in the South West to create a series of stunning projections. The student groups will work to combine multiple layers of sound and visuals to transform Fore Street with spectacular projections and installations on buildings inside and out. Tal Rosner started his career doing the titles for the iconic television series ‘Skins’, and now works on exciting contemporary art, video, opera and dance collaborations all over the world.

There is also a LIGHTSTREAM-related cocktail mixing competition to take part in! Mixoligists at The Bike Shed Theatre will concoct a delicious drink from the winning entry, to be sold throughout the festival exclusively at The Bike Shed Theatre. The winner will be able to sample their very own creation at the opening of LIGHTSTREAM at The Bike Shed Theatre on 14th February. Email your mix to info@animatedexeter.co.uk.

The 14th and 15th February will also see several film viewing sessions in venues across the city, with the final Animated Exeter awards ceremony taking place at the Phoenix Theatre on the 15th February. Screenings include 'The Graduate official selection', with entries from 2013's top animation graduates, and 'The Indies official selection', showing independent talent from around the world.

The second week of the festival focuses more on animation workshops and master-classes for the whole family to enjoy. Among the extensive programme of events is an introduction to basic 2D cut-out animation, led by two animation graduates from Falmouth University, and the possibility to share the mad antics of the 'Moshi Monsters' children's game by creating your own Moshling family. (For Moshi fans, it is possible to buy tickets to three events on Moshi Day and get 20% off, or for two events and get 10% off.) There is also a celebration of the centenary of Normal McLaren, the great animation pioneer, with two workshops taking place on the 20th February. Furthermore,  there will be master-classes in script-writing and cartoon animation, among many others.

There are also several free exhibitions taking place during the two-week festival. The Spacex gallery is offering the possibility of making a short animation while enjoying a light breakfast on the 13th February, with good quality local food and drinks being supplied. The Gloss Gallery is also putting on a charming exhibition of affordable collectable works from David McKee's 'Mr Benn' series, throughout the two weeks. As well as this, the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton is celebrating a new collaboration of the South West's animation courses with exciting new graduate works being displayed until the 1st March. For more information and associated activities, please go to www.thelmahulbert.com.

If you fancy something completely different, the Bike Shed Theatre and Soap Soup Theatre are presenting an array of beautiful tabletop puppetry and storytelling from the 18th to the 22nd February, performed and devised by Tomasin Cuthbert. These shows cost only £5 to enter, and are suitable for all ages.

Booking for Animated Exeter events is very simple, through the box office at Exeter Phoenix. Bearing in mind that there's a £1.25 charge on transactions, it's certainly a good idea to be organised and book all your favourite events in one go! For special tickets deals and discounts, venues, hotels and further information, please go to www.animatedexeter.co.uk.