BFI Short Form Animation Fund Showcase & Discussion (15)

Thursday 13 Nov 2025 - 17:30
HOME - Cinema 2
Runtime: 90 mins (approx.)

Join Jez Stewart from the BFI for an exciting look through some of the outstanding films supported by the BFI National Lottery Short Form Animation Fund. This special screening and discussion brings together selected filmmakers and representatives from the BFI Filmmaking Fund to share their experiences from the process. Gather inspiration from past success stories, gain practical insights into the production process, and discover how to strengthen your own application for future funding opportunities in this session that's a must attend for filmmakers.

This screening carries the following trigger warnings for content:

Injury, death and animal death, illness, infant mortality, sexual activity, blood, mental illness and reference to suicide.

Trigger warning content categories used are courtesy of the Film and TV Charity's advice: https://bit.ly/3VUsEF4

Films in this programme

Your Mountain is Waiting

Dir. Hannah Jacobs // United Kingdom

A young woman confined by her inner-city surroundings, Martha has stopped listening to her intuition and her life is suffering as a result. But, when a strange encounter forces Martha to see her world a little differently, she must embrace the seemingly irrational as she embarks on a surreal journey of discovery, learning to not only listen to, but trust her gut instincts once again.

Visible Mending

Dir. Samantha Moore // United Kingdom

Visible Mending is a stop motion animated documentary made with knitted objects, exploring the effect that knitting has to help people to make sense of their lives. Case studies include; a software engineer who re-learned knitting to recover fine motor skills after a stroke, an occupational therapist who explains how knitting can help the brain as a therapeutic tool, an artist who uses her knitting as a medium to connect communities, a mother who knits to process anxiety about her injured son, and a terminal cancer patient who knits and crochets to give shape and meaning to her days.

No Ordinary Joe

Dir. Barry JC Purves // United Kingdom

Inspired by the true story of a real-life British eccentric; Marion Barbara "Joe" Carstairs, millionaire powerboat racer, transatlantic sailor and the owner of Whale Cay in the Bahamas, was born in London in 1900. No Ordinary Joe explores the most extraordinary, loving and lasting relationship between Joe, a colourfully defiant lesbian and Toddie, the young man who was the love of her life and just happened to be a dapper, little Steiff puppet. Through this ebullient puppet, Joe Carstairs gets to appreciate just what she has achieved, the friends she has loved and lost, and the impact she has had on the world.

Beware of Trains

Dir. Emma Calder // United Kingdom

Beware of Trains explores today’s voyeuristic culture of fear and uncertainty. A woman with extreme anxiety is devoured by four major preoccupations – the man she met by chance on a train, her dying father, her daughter’s safety, and the murder she dreams she has committed. Real life and her obsessional fantasies become blurred, causing her family life to degenerate. The more guilty she feels, about how these fantasies are affecting those she loves the worse they get. She longs to escape. Years later she imagines herself in analysis. She is both therapist and patient. She relives her past traumas, and these conversations form the structure for the film.

Jez Stewart

Jez Stewart is a curator at the BFI National Archive, responsible for the animation collection. He joined the BFI in 2001, working extensively with the non-fiction and advertising collections, while developing his specialist interest in British animation history. He has given talks in Beijing, New York, across Europe and the UK, as well as to the staff at Disney, and written for a variety of publications. His 2021 book The Story of British Animation was the first comprehensive history of the subject to be published. He co-curated the “Animation 2018” season at the BFI in London.

Kate Maxwell

Kate Maxwell is a Development Executive for the Filmmaking Fund at the British Film Institute (BFI). In her role, she works across the BFI’s feature film development and production slate, with a particular focus on supporting emerging talent. She also works on projects funded through the BFI National Lottery Short Form Animation Fund, which supports higher-budget animated shorts made by UK-based teams. Recent titles include Plunge, a documentary short by Ellie Land, and And Granny Would Dance by Maryam Mohajer.

Chris Hees

Chris Hees is the founder and lead producer at UK production company Bridge Way Films. He is a BAFTA winning, Oscar nominated producer and alumni of the prestigious National Film and Television School, ACE Producers, Berlinale Talents, Creative England’s Market Trader, Screen Yorkshire’s Flex and Cannes Producer Network.