This programme has now ended but you can still see details of the films below.
Hope. Jem Clancy. UK. 2025. 2:49. FFF. DDD. Online Premiere. Hope is a dance film inspired by Spring and the beauty of diversity. It is about everyone being welcome and celebrated dancing their own dance. It is about us all being our most brilliant when we are working together and no-one is left behind. It is about hope, change and growth. It is about creating the future we want to see, less words about and more dancing to act.
The Flight of Ellen Bird. Seana Kozar. Canada. 2025. 5:55s. D. F. World Premiere. Animated entirely by hand using paint-on-glass stop motion, The Flight of Ellen Bird is a modern reinterpretation of the medieval story of “Burd Ellen.” Ellen lost her shadow and was trapped in Faerie, unable to tell her story until she was rescued by her youngest brother, Roland. In this retelling, Ellen is a disabled woman who feels trapped by silence and invisibility in her own world until she figures out how to tell her story and free herself. The film features original choreography by the filmmaker’s daughter.
My Utopia episode2: Deaf Barrier. Doreen A Edemafaka. UK. 2025. 05:20s. D.F. Set in Fictional London and shot in colour, stop-motion animation, Deaf Barrier is a semi-autobiographical film that depicts the daily experiences of a Deaf character, the effect their disability has on them and what they require to communicate in society. Includes audio-description.
MCAS. Ari Moretz. Canada. 2025. 1m. FF. DDD. “MCAS” is a stop-motion animated short film that brings visibility to Mast Cell Activation Syndrome—a chronic and often misunderstood condition. Through striking visuals and intimate storytelling, the film explores how MCAS impacts nearly every system in the body, conveying the daily toll on the person impacted by MCAS.