FILM FROM SCRATCH SCREENING
Updated: Dec 1, 2024
This December, you can view a fantastic collaboration in Welsh animated film - for the first time on the big screen!
FILM FROM SCRATCH is a short animated film produced by Gritty Realism Productions, combining amateur cine clips and scratched animation to highlight the comprehensive collection and work of Wales National Screen and Sound Archive. The Archive celebrates the history of sound and moving image in Wales, and champions the importance of preserving Welsh film for future generations.
The animation for the film was created by workshop participants from a variety of backgrounds and areas, ranging from young people in Riverside, Cardiff and Senghenydd to Animation under-graduates from the University of South Wales. They all responded to the archive films in their individual ways, scratching drawings directly into 35mm celluloid film, a technique inspired by the pioneering work of filmmaker Len Lye.
The theme of the film is 'Wales and Water' and follows on from Gritty Realism’s HAVING A BALL IN SWANSEA - a film that celebrates a day and night spent in the city, created by scratching and drawing directly onto 35mm film in a Swansea shopping centre.
Scratched animation workshop as part of FILM FROM SCRATCH
“As far as I know, scratch on film animation and archive film have never been combined together in this way before. The film reveals the history of film in Wales in a new way, combining imagery and music in an engaging format.”
Gerald Conn, Gritty Realism Productions
(L-R) 'PIN AND TUMBLER' Dir. Patrick Connelly, '4:3' Dir. Ross Hogg,
'SOMETHING MORE' Dir. Mary Martins.
To accompany the collaborative scratch film, Cardiff Animation Festival has put together a programme of animated short films that use the same scratch technique. From abstract colourful worlds to informative documentaries, the programme showcases how filmmakers incorporate this technique to create beautiful stories and animation.
Join us at Chapter Arts Centre on Sunday 15th December at 4pm to catch the programme of films and a Q+A discussion with Gritty Realism.
This project was supported by
I was just reading a bit on https://paynplaycasinosite.net when I spotted your FILM FROM SCRATCH screening post. It's lovely that the archive's amateur cine clips are being brought to the big screen alongside the scratched animation, and the lineup of scratch-technique shorts should make for a really varied programme. The Q&A with Gritty Realism sounds like a great way to hear how the participants approached the 35mm work.