In Small Stories in a Big World, Claire Lamond presents and talks about a programme of her films, together with a selection of international animation which has inspired and excited her.
Drawn to small stories that reflect powerfully and engage emotionally with our society’s wider political and social environment and challenges, award-winning animator Claire Lamond screens three of her own films: ALL THAT GLISTERS (2012, 8’), SEAMS & EMBERS (2012, 7’) and SEA FRONT (2014, 8’).
Together with the following shorts, Claire’s choices articulate with humour and poignancy a wide range of human issues with both big and a small p political subjects and contexts:
DOG Suzie Templeton/England 2001, 6’ A young boy longs for reassurance about how his mother died while he and his Dad protect each other by holding their agony inside.
THE BIGGER PICTURE Daisy Jacobs/England 2014, 8’ The life-size animated tale of two sons, one ageing mum, and no end in sight.
SCARED Patricia Sourdes/France 2012, 5’ A gentle but poignant tale about a girl living with anxiety.
BALANCE Wolfgang & Christoph Lauenstein/Germany 1989, 8’ When your whole world is a floating platform how do you maintain the balance?
UNISON BEAR Jerry Hibert/England 1995, 1’ Join the union!
SEVEN MINUTES IN THE WARSAW GHETTO Johan Oettinger/Denmark 2012, 7’ Based on an actual event, a little boy finds himself in the middle of the brutal world of the Holocaust.
First of all, the inevitable question: what made you decide on animation as your medium?
I was drawn into animation through the enchantment of stories. I was studying illustration at Telford College and every brief I got cried out for more than a single still representation. I couldn’t get away from an urge to add the element of time and narrative onto what I created. That and a love of textiles and textures and a desire to turn them into things.
How do you feel your work fits in with manipulate’s general atmosphere?
When you say you work in animation a lot of people assume you make things for children. I’m sure the same is true for puppeteers. What’s wonderful about Manipulate is that it makes clear that the magic of storytelling and communication of ideas in these creative and abstract ways is fantastic for adults.
As a puppet animator, it’s also great to see my work in the context of ‘puppets’ in addition to its more usual placement in a film world. What I do is manipulate puppets… just painfully slowly!
Your work has a very distinctive aesthetic: do you have any particular influences – both within and beyond animation?
When I saw Suzie Templeton’s film Dog, which is part of the programme on Thursday night, a light went on for me as I realised that she had made something that brought many of my passions together: interesting films about normal folk wrestling with the loves and lows of life (I’m a big fan of Ken Loach), a slightly dark but respectful view of humans, and a use of textures and textiles and darkly appealing puppets. She has been a massive influence.
Is Scotland a good place to be an animator?
I could be flippant and say “I work in a black cupboard, it could be anywhere” but that wouldn’t be the whole truth. Scotland’s an exciting place to be an animator. There’s a buzz going on and good number of interesting people making lots of exciting things. Very much a sense of community whether you’re working independently or as part of a studio encouraging local talent like Kolik.
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