Animation NOW! Invert – Characters 

The power of animation is at its peak when deployed in the name of bizarre characters and uncommon souls. Animation can physicalise inner lives in a way that mere words or story arcs have no hope of emulating. To take what is inside a character’s mind and mould it into form, colour and motion brings a unique dimension to whatever a film has to say.

This programme begins with Reruns, the last film made by Rosto, one of the true masters of the medium, who passed away earlier this year after a brief battle with cancer. His passing deprives the world of a true animation maestro. Rosto had a feature in development with his producers, Autour de Minuit, and we can only wonder what would have been.

The fourth in a quartet of films which traverse the immersive, mental cartography of a world that formed in Rosto’s dreams over a period of years, Reruns was the original spark for Invert – Characters.

Other highlights include Herman Brown Is Feeling Down, a vivid and immersive study of anxiety, animated using ink on film; the very strange Turbine, a showcase of intricate line work and surreal imagery; and Roundabout, a darkly comic exploration of the birth–death cycle.