Manipulate Arts is proud to celebrate Scotland’s vibrant and ever-evolving animation scene.
This exciting showcase brings together a diverse collection of contemporary shorts from Scottish based animators who are pushing the boundaries of the form. From bold experimental works to imaginative worlds and thought-provoking social commentaries, each film reflects the creativity, technical skill, and distinctive voice of its maker.
Together, they highlight the strength of Scotland’s animation community running as the first In Competition strand at Manipulate Festival 2026 which was won by Peace of Heart by Ana Songel.
Distance to the Moon
Victoria Watson and Sacha Kyle, 2025, Scotland, Non-Verbal, 9 min
X’ embarks on a surreal and mesmerising journey into the vastness of space exploring existential isolation, connection and the profound power of the cosmos.
Making Mountains
Sammi Duong, 2023, Scotland, English, 2 min, Swearing
A chaotic stream of consciousness, expressing the escalating thoughts and feelings of a person navigating the difficulties of explaining her anxious mind.
The Jubilee
Wilma Smith, 2024, Scotland, English, 12 min, Dementia, child loss
Made from paper napkins, Mimi is a little mouse girl who struggles with her memories but through the help of a somewhat familiar old man she remembers fragments of her life through a cloud of dementia, against a confusing backdrop of their wedding anniversary party.
Veni Vidi Non Vici
Leonor Calaça, 2024, Scotland/Spain, Spanish, 3 min, Depictions of animal cruetly.
A short film that exposes the brutal nature of bullfighting practices in Portugal, by focusing on the cynical way real pro-bullfights arguments shock with reality. The animation on screen follows an informal discussion between two friends, whose opinions start to diverge when bullfights become the subject of conversation.
Porkhampton
Louis Managh, 2024, Scotland, Non-Verbal, 5 min
Porkhampton is an animated film intended as a remembered portrait of my home town, Stretford, Manchester. Working in a layered, straight ahead, hand drawn animation style highlighting the distortion between reality and the imagined. Movement and gesture is integral in the work, aiming to capture the subtle moments, the nature and use of body language whilst presenting these pillars hyperbolically. This project sparked an interest in experimental animation, which led to my practice throughout the year.
Room Temperature
Roni Niu, 2024, Scotland, Non-Verbal, 7 min, Racism
An inquisitive White humanoid journeys from a grey limbo into the technicolour unknown, where dazzling rooms hide dark intentions, and survival depends on acclimatising to the rooms’ temperatures…
Growin’ Pains
Sammson Orr, 2023, Scotland, Non-Verbal, 6 mins, Distressing themes
During a family argument, a teenager flees to the garden to find some relief from the noise and conflict inside, but the argument follows them out and cannot beescaped. Feeling hopelessly fed up, they begin to grow into the grass and are swallowed by the ground. When they wake, they are in a world beneath the garden floor where they have transformed into a cryptid creature, a green man, an escape from being human. What seemed at first a magical escapism becomes a burden as the house and conflict still plagues them.
Fairground Fever
Linda Hughes, 2024, Scotland, Non-Verbal, 6 mins
A hand-drawn animated film, in which three teenagers visit the Links Market (the annual fair that comes to Kirkcaldy each April). One goes on a strange, visually exciting journey, coming out the other end and back to reality.
Creche and Burn
Frank O’Neil, 2025, Scotland, English, 4 mins, Cartoon violence and gore
Staff at an office crèche fight to protect their children during a zombie outbreak.
Peace of Heart
Ana Songel, 2025, Scotland, English, 11 mins
After remembering a family-woven island tale, young Ailsa ventures into a dreamlike world, in search of her absent father and a way to heal their hearts.
Manipulate Arts’ Autumn Animation Season is supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery.
