I spent the weekend at Animated Exeter, an animation festival in the south-west of England. On Friday, I watched Persepolis, a staggering animated feature that is up against Pixar's latest masterpiece Ratatouille at the upcoming Academy Awards. It's really very good, and will challenge perceptions of what an animated film can be, so do go watch it when it goes on general release in April.
Above: the giant automated robotic phoenix that adorns the Exeter Phoenix building. I'm not kidding.
I also attended workshops in character design and writing for animation by Curtis Jobling and Alan Gilbey respectively. They were very enjoyable and useful, and I recommend them if they take place in an area near you in the future.
