Scotland’s animation scene is set to take centre stage this February, with an array of festivals, industry conferences, and film screenings celebrating the art of animated storytelling. From Edinburgh’s Manipulate Festival and MOVE Summit to Glasgow’s Film Theatre and Glasgow Film Festival, the country will be buzzing with activity for filmmakers, animators, and cinephiles alike. Additionally, special screenings at Dundee Contemporary Arts and Skye Community Cinema will bring award-winning animated films to even more audiences across Scotland.
With an emphasis on both creative expression and industry development, these events will provide an exciting platform for independent animators, leading studios, and aspiring talent to showcase their work, exchange ideas, and connect with audiences.
Manipulate Festival: A Hub for Animation, Puppetry, and Visual Theatre
For nearly two decades, Manipulate Festival has been a cornerstone of Scotland’s arts scene, spotlighting international and UK-based animation, puppetry, and visual theatre. Now in its 18th year, the festival returns to Edinburgh from 12–15 February, offering an immersive four-day programme packed with screenings, live performances, workshops, and interactive installations.
Animation lovers will have the chance to experience A Town Called Panic (Panique Au Village), a stop-motion film that made history as the first of its kind to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. In addition, the festival will feature three specially curated short film programmes. From ‘La Fantasmagorie’ to the Future charts the evolution of French and Francophone animation from 1908 to today, On the Edge explores environmental and social issues through animation from the circumpolar north, and Queer Stories showcases LGBTQIA+ narratives in animation in collaboration with Sanctuary Queer Arts.
A festival favourite, the One Bum Cinema Club, will also return—an intimate, one-person mini-theatre screening a selection of critically acclaimed international animated shorts. This unique pop-up cinema will tour Edinburgh libraries for eight weeks, ensuring a wider audience has access to inspiring animated storytelling.
MOVE Summit: Scotland’s Premier Animation and VFX Conference
From 19–21 February, Edinburgh will also play host to MOVE Summit, the UK’s leading conference dedicated to animation, CGI, and visual effects. Bringing together professionals from across 2D and 3D animation, television, film, gaming, advertising, and emerging technologies like VR and AR, MOVE Summit fosters industry growth through an extensive lineup of keynote speeches, panel discussions, creative showcases, and networking events.
This year’s programme features a stellar roster of industry experts, including Chris McDonald, Visualisation Supervisor at Framestore, who will discuss his work on the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked. Maurissa Horwitz, Lead Editor at Pixar, will give audiences an inside look at Inside Out 2, one of the most anticipated animated films of the year. Meanwhile, acclaimed animator Mike Mitchell will present The Animated Life of Mike Mitchell, reflecting on his experiences working on some of the biggest animated films in history.
Scotland’s own James Hodgart, a 3D environment artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios, will share his journey from Renfrewshire to Hollywood and discuss his contributions to the highly anticipated Moana 2. The full conference schedule, including additional guest speakers, workshops, and networking events, will be announced on the MOVE Summit website soon.
Glasgow Film Theatre: A Tribute to Adam Elliot’s Stop-Motion Masterpieces
Glasgow’s renowned Film Theatre (GFT) will showcase the work of Adam Elliot, an Academy Award-winning stop-motion animator, with screenings running from 14–20 February.
Audiences can watch Memoir of a Snail, a poignant and darkly comedic tale that won Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film follows a misfit protagonist navigating life’s challenges and boasts a star-studded voice cast, including Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Nick Cave.
To complement this screening, GFT will also present Elliot’s debut feature, Mary and Max—a deeply moving film exploring the unconventional pen-pal relationship between a lonely Australian girl and a middle-aged man with Asperger’s Syndrome, voiced by Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Glasgow Film Festival: Fostering Scottish Animation Talent
Running from 26 February–9 March, the Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) will not only showcase international cinema but also invest in Scotland’s animation industry through Animatic, a major talent development programme.
Aimed at supporting Scotland-based animators and studios, Animatic provides participants with six months of training, mentorship, and pitching workshops. With guidance from animation industry leaders such as Aardman, Netflix, BBC, Warner Bros Discovery, Nickelodeon, and Screen Scotland, participants will refine their projects and prepare them for international markets.
Among this year’s Animatic participants are Hannah Kelso, a BAFTA and BIFA-nominated screenwriter developing an animated comedy series about shapeshifting reptilian overlords, and Iain Gardner, an award-winning animator whose short film A Bear Named Wojtek was shortlisted for an Oscar.
Dundee Contemporary Arts: A Month of Animated Cinema
Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) will host a series of animated film screenings throughout February, catering to both family audiences and animation enthusiasts. Highlights include The Red Turtle, a stunning, dialogue-free film produced by Studio Ghibli, and The Wild Robot, a highly anticipated adaptation of Peter Brown’s beloved novel.
For older audiences, DCA will also screen Ghost Cat Anzu, a visually inventive indie film, alongside the Oscar-nominated Memoir of a Snail, providing a varied and enriching animated film lineup.
Skye Community Cinema: Bringing Animation to the Highlands
Even the remote Highlands will have the chance to celebrate animated storytelling, as Skye Community Cinema presents Memoir of a Snail on 7 February. This screening will be accompanied by a short film by Scottish animator Cat Bruce and followed by an engaging post-screening discussion, offering audiences an opportunity to delve deeper into the creative process behind these films.
A Month Packed with Animation Across Scotland
With a diverse range of events, screenings, and industry gatherings, February promises to be a landmark month for animation in Scotland. Whether through the innovative storytelling of Manipulate Festival, the professional insights of MOVE Summit, the exclusive screenings at Glasgow Film Theatre, or the industry-focused development at Glasgow Film Festival, Scotland continues to prove itself as a global leader in animation.
For more details on tickets, schedules, and guest speakers, visit the official websites of each festival and venue.
Manipulate Festival:https://www.manipulatearts.co.uk/
Move Summit:https://www.movesummit.co.uk/
Glasgow Film Theatre:https://www.glasgowfilm.org/movie/memoir-of-a-snail
https://www.glasgowfilm.org/movie/mary-and-max-introduction
Glasgow Film Festival: https://www.glasgowfilmfest.org/animatic/
Dundee Contemporary Arts: https://www.dca.org.uk/
Skye Community Cinema:https://www.instagram.com/skyefilms.scot/
“Glasgow. Glasgow Film Theatre. Main entrance” by Daniel Naczk is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.