After sorting through a huge pile of 2,400 entries, we’ve curated a selection of 77 outstanding new films from 30 countries. These films range from humorous and dramatic to bizarre, subtle, frightening, and autobiographical. What they all share is our belief that they represent the best of the best. These 8 international competition programmes showcase a variety of techniques, genres, and styles. This is your annual glimpse into the vibrant world of international indie animation.

This programme, the Abstract Showcase, represents our yearly exploration of abstract and experimental animation. It features 12 short films where animators use a wide range of techniques, from hand-drawn 'musical scores' to high-definition computer-assisted imagery. Each film reflects a deep passion for animated movement and showcases the artist's skill in using colour and crafting non-narrative visuals to captivate the screen.

LIAF is one of the very few animation festivals in the world to devote an entire programme to abstract and experimental animation. We do this because we believe that the tenets that underpin great abstract animation go to the very heart of what it is to create beautiful, frame by frame animated imagery; a form of animated artmaking with a history that reaches back to the earliest days of the animation. Also — we do it because we love abstract animation!

Several filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films at the start of the screening.

Please visit https://liaf.org.uk/ for more details

The Self and the Other

An experimental film inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre's play "No Exit." a game of perception in which the power of interpretation lies with the viewer.

UK 2024 Dir: Chen Ma 6’00

Wanderers

Exploring concepts of fluidity and rigidity through monochromatic, crystalline visuals, delving into the emotional turmoil a wanderer has to engage with when grappling with the ideas of going against the flow.

Hong Kong 2025 Dir: Muhammad Mustefa Bukhari 3’45

Toil and Spin

The drifting sensations of sleep and the turbulence of sleeplessness. An oarless journey through memory, regret, and restless thought.

USA 2024  Dir: Maureen Zent 5’05

The Garden of Electric Delights

Tapping into our sensual pleasures with this experimental interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch’s iconic triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Austria 2025 Dir: Billy Roisz 11’45

Where Blue Meets Red

Consisting of several dozen original risograph prints, this under-the-camera, straight-ahead animation is improvised to the rhythm of the scores by Hungarian jazz trumpeter and composer Barabás Lőrinc.

Hungary 2024  Dir: Tamás Patrovits 4’00

Kepler - 891c

Moving from planetary surfaces to deep space, mysterious shapes and spheres guide exploration and slowly return to the surface.

Hong Kong 2025 Dir: Kwan Yau Tse 3’15

States of Matter

An experimental strata-cut animation crafted entirely from wax and paper. It invites viewers on a meditative exploration of materiality, textures, and movements.

Netherlands 2024  Dir: Marvin Hauck 7’00

Deluge

An ever-evolving landscape where the present inevitably coexists with the past. The slow stampede of a vulnerable mind.

USA 2024 Dir: Meejin Hong 12’05

Play

Hand-painted film combined with digital animation explores abstraction and concepts of ‘play’ as intrinsic to creative practice.

Australia 2025  Dir: Sabrina Schmid 2’05

We The Water

The complex relationship between humans and water. Compelling contrasts between wetness and dryness, fluidity and rigidity, light and darkness.

Switzerland 2024 Dir: Noah Lüthi 3’55

Simple Random Walks

A simple random walk is a discrete-time stochastic process that describes a path generated by a sequence of random steps.

USA 2025 Dir: Larry Cuba 7’10

Steen

A scenic and visual experience of cells and the small organisms that we live amongst, exploring the unknown structure of nature.

Hong Kong 2025 Dir: Chin Yiu Mane Cheung, Pui Yu Sammi Tsui 3’55