Bradford Animation Festival
It’s not just what they do, it’s how they do it at this leading animation fixture, which regularly entices guests and experts into revealing their secrets. French maestro Michel Ocelot, purveyor of magical tales such as Kirikou And The Sorceress, gives a screen talk alongside a retrospective, and you’ll also find personnel from the worlds of stop-motion (Boxtrolls makers Laika, Aardman); gaming (Revolution, Ubisoft); special effects (Double Negative) and more. There’s a focus on women animators, including a tribute to Joy “Animal Farm” Batchelor by her daughter, plus, as you’d expect, a huge selection of staggeringly diverse and imaginative films for all ages, from Swedish horse-run leisure facilities (Bath House) to Sing Along Frozen.
National Media Museum, Mon to 22 Nov
Ada & After: Women Do Science [Fiction], London
Taking its cue from 19th-century programming pioneer Ada Lovelace, this celebration of women in sci-fi has its work cut out in what’s traditionally been a male-dominated sector. But the result is a bracingly eccentric and varied assortment. Lovelace herself is portrayed by Tilda Swinton in Conceiving Ada, and elsewhere you’ll find Zambian female astronauts (Afronauts), lesbian aliens, and post-apocalyptic riot grrrl superhero Tank Girl.
Various venues, Thu to 23 Nov
Cinecity, Brighton
The films spill off the screen at this festival, most notably in the form of Berg, a real-life set and sound installation for a movie that hasn’t been made, based on Ann Quin’s cult 1964 Brighton novel. There are also live underscores to movies such as Parajanov’s beautiful The Colour Of Pomegranates (from the Brighton-based Juno Reactor), X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (by Pere Ubu), and Suspiria (by Goblin), among others. Not to mention a screening of Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty enhanced by bespoke tastes, textures and smells, and an intriguing experiment in something called “Yoga Horror”. The film lineup includes some promising new British work including first world war memoir Testament Of Youth; Peter Strickland’s The Duke Of Burgundy; Norfolk youth drama The Goob; and Brighton-set romcom My Accomplice.
Various venues, Thu to 7 Dec
London Latin American Film Festival, London
The extremes seem that bit more extreme in Latin America, as reflected in the selection at this long-running (it’s now in its 24th year) and completely free festival. One the one hand, you’ve got some of the most intense urbanisation and deprivation on the planet, as seen in city survey The Heart Of Caracas, or pesticide-warped Patagonian agricultural drama The Cure. On the other, you’ve got some of the most unspoilt nature remaining in the world and the most vibrant culture too, visible here in films on Amazonian tribes, Brazilian martial art Capoeira, Afro-Cuban folklore, and Pablo Neruda. Put all that together and you might get something like the truly unique indigenous Andean detective mystery Extirpator Of Idolatries.
Various venues, Sat to 23 Nov
