EIFF 2010: McLaren Animation 1

The calibre of up-and-coming animators is quite staggering in Britain today. Scotland has a great deal to offer the international scene, and it's well worth making a trip to one of our art schools' degree shows this week to catch some of the talent on display.  Edinburgh College of Art is currently showing a collection of pieces that includes some hysterical flat animation (a cheeky granny and a parodic sex education tutorial spring to mind) as well as jaw-dropping stop-motion work (pay particular attention to the grubs, and a rather tragic night on the tiles). Amongst these gems is a stand-out called 'Savage Mountain', the tale of two intrepid explorers scaling a priapic Alp. This brain-child of Steve Warn will be screening as part of the short animation series at the EIFF – McLaren Animation.

I haven't had a chance to catch the second reel of shorts (including 'Savage Mountain'), but the first collection was really very impressive. Screening on Thursday 17 and Saturday 19 June at the Filmhouse, McLaren Animation 1 features a surprising abundance of snow, whales, foxes and magicians. Tone ranges from the sublime (an ethereal, haunting claymation, 'The Astronomer's Sun'), through the charming (a series of mini-shorts on the raucous dreams of a snoozing kitten) and hilarious (the vicissitudes of an arctic inter-species love triangle, 'Cooked') to the down-right distressing ('The Moon Bird', while beautiful to pore over, is perhaps the scariest animation I've seen...). For formal imagination and visual wit, there is the clockwork life of 'Stanley Pickle' and the retro stylings of 'The Henhouse', about an ambivalent fox-come-barrista. The only bum notes are a quasi-educational piece about dialysis, quizzically called 'Paraphernalia', and a suspiciously didactic anti-fur tract, 'The Tannery'.

The films featured in this strand are eligible for a £1,000 prize for new British animators and the prize-winner is selected by popular vote. So if you happen to see these delightful collections, think carefully as the result will have a significant impact on the fortune of the winner. And it is thoroughly worth happening to see them.