21st July - 26th September

Venue: The Public

This summer The Public arts centre in West Bromwich has a host of film-related goodies on offer in their gallery spaces, including new work by legendary video artist Bill Viola, an exhibition devoted to Samantha Moore's animated documentary An Eyeful of Sound, and interactive gizmo Cyclo-Mation. 7 Inch Cinema are pitching in with two rolling programmes, both of which are free to watch.

The Public will be running animation workshops throughout the summer, and to give you some inspiration we’ve gathered together an hour’s worth of the finest animated shorts from around the world. This programme is particularly suitable for younger viewers, and includes:

Paraphernalia (dir: John Williams)

The tale of a boy and his robot.

Komaneko (dir: Tsuneo Goda)

The trials and tribulations of a filmmaking cat.

The Happy Duckling (dir: Gili Dolev)

Charming short in the style of a pop-up book.

Cherry on the Cake (dir: Hyebin Lee)

An incredible shrinking girl.

Western Spaghetti (dir: Pes)

How to cook using post-its and pin-cushions.

The Colour Box programme will be running every day in the gallery, and lasts an hour in total. For more information on learning activities at the Public visit their website.

In this selection of contemporary work, six filmmakers use a range of techniques to create their own miniature worlds.

The Bellows March

(dir: Eric Dyer, USA 2009, 5 minutes)

The Bellows March looks like animation, but it’s kind of live action. Eric Dyer created a series of enormous zoetrope sculptures using 3-D printing techniques, and then filmed them rotating with a super-fast shutter in order to create these eerie, kaleidoscopic results.

A Film From My Parish – 6 Farms

(dir: Tony Donoghue, Ireland 2009, 7 minutes)

Made using a stills camera, a minidisc recorder and a bicycle, this may be the most environmentally friendly film here. It’s also charming and funny.  Built around interviews which Tony Donoghue did with six of his neighbours in County Tipperary, A Film From My Parish depicts a way of life which has somehow survived the onset of intensive farming.

Tad’s Nest

(dir: Petra Freeman, UK 2009, 5 minutes)

The title is a Cornish term for the spot in the river where eels pause to mature before returning home. Freeman uses this image as the starting point for a dark meditation on childhood and memory, painted on glass to create a unique, fluid style.

Peripetics

(dir: Zeitguised, UK 2008, 4 minutes)

Sinister digital piece depicting six gallery spaces inhabited by ‘disoriented systems’, imaginary artworks which defy logic. Zeitguised are a German architect and an American sculptor based in London.

Going Home

(dir: Andersen M, UK 2009, 3 minutes)

Short promo for the New Zealand Book Council, made using intricate paper cut-outs.

Lebensader

(dir: Angela Steffen, Germany 2009, 6 minutes)

‘A little girl finds the whole world inside a leaf.’ Drawn by hand and then digitally colourised, this beautiful graduation film was inspired by the filmmaker’s own experiences after her father was diagnosed with cancer. The title translates roughly as ‘Lifeline’.

Total running time: 30 minutes