Bore Da and welcome back to the AFA Podcast, the official podcast of animationforadults.com. This is a very special episode where we celebrate the Cardiff Animation Festival, which takes place April 23-26 in Cardiff, Wales. To mark the occasion we hopped on Zoom and sat down (virtually) with five of the most talented animators in the UK, all of whom have a film in this year's festival!

We spoke with

• Nathan Addai, director of Mental Roots
• Maryam Mohajer, director of And Granny Would Dance
• Eleri Edwards, director of Crybaby
• Steff Lee, director of Of All The Things
• Laura Jayne Hodkin, director of Wuthering Hearts.

Well, hello there, and welcome back to The AFA Podcast interview series. This time around we spoke with Sevan Najarian, animator, director, editor and effects whizz who directed The Whitest Kids U Know's Mars, the first (and last) animated feature written by and starring the cult comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U Know. We spoke about his origins at Channel 101, the making of the movie and the challenges he faced and more. Whether you're a big fan of The Whitest Kids from back in the day or you are a newcomer, you should enjoy this chat!

Welcome back to the AFA Podcast, and another edition of our interview specials. This time we got to speak with Ricard Cusso and Elise Allen, the director and writer respectively of The Pout Pout Fish, the new animated feature released in North America on March 20.

Presented and produced by Chris Perkins.

Well, hello there, and welcome once again to The AFA Podcast and another interview special! This time we got to speak with David Feiss, animation legend and creator of the classic Cartoon Network series Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel. David's new series Armorsaurs is now streaming on Disney Plus and sees his foray into live-action/animation hybrid directing. We spoke about his entire career, from his early years at Hanna-Barbera, via Ren and Stimpy to Cow and Chicken and beyond. We hope you enjoy listening!

Well, hello there... and welcome back to The AFA Podcast, and another interview special. This time around we spoke to Ugo Bienvenu, French animator, illustrator and director. Ugo is the director of the new sci-fi feature Arco, which has been doing really well on the awards circuit, being nominated for a Golden Globe and an impressive five Annie Award nominations. The film will be released in the United States in February and in the United Kingdom in March.

Well, hello there and welcome once again to the AFA Podcast. We're back with another interview episode! This time we got the chance to speak with Oscar-nominated filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), directors of the wonderful stop-motion short The Girl Who Cried Pearls. As well as the new film, we discussed their career paths, their unconventional production method and "whatever you do, don't teach them anything!"

Thanks to Nadine from The National Film Board of Canada for her help setting this interview up. Presented and produced by Chris Perkins.

Show notes

In Montreal, at the dawn of the 20th century, a poor boy falls in love with a girl whose sorrow turns into pearls. He sells them to a ruthless pawnbroker, who hungers for more. Tempted by greed, the boy must choose between love and fortune. The choice could damn his soul.

From the Oscar-nominated team of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), this meticulously crafted film is a testament to the magic of stop-motion animation. With handmade puppets, mesmerizing narration by Colm Feore and a haunting score by Patrick Watson, The Girl Who Cried Pearls is a timeless parable of desire, deception and the price of innocence.

Well, hello there, strangers, yes indeed The AFA Podcast is back. And do we have a show for you, because not only does this episode mark the first episode we've put out since this podcast turned 10 years old (believe it or not) but we're also celebrating Manchester Animation Festival, the biggest animation festival in the UK.

We spoke with some of the filmmakers behind some of this year's crop of animated short films, that will be in competition for the top prize at this year's MAF. They're all from the UK, all super-talented and don't be surprised to see any of their names crop up come Oscar and BAFTA time.

We spoke with

• Laura Tofraides director of Brain Space
• Greg McLeod director of Last Lines
• Baz Sells director of Two Black Boys In Paradise
• Yasmine Djedje-Fisher-Azoume director of Dede
• J.P Vine director of Cardboard
• Duncan Rudd director of The Ballad Of Pale Blue Dot

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast: Interview Series. This time we got to speak with Trey Toy, who is the co-composer on the recently released Castlevania: Nocturne, now streaming on Netflix. We discussed what makes Nocturne unique, his inspiration and his career so far. It was a pretty wide-ranging, very interesting chat! Have a listen, although beware if you haven't seen Castlevania Nocturne: season 2 yet, there are some spoilers!

Welcome back to The AFA Podcast, and another interview special. This time we spoke with Mike McMahan the creator/show-runner of Star Trek: Lower Decks. The Star Trek animated comedy recently wrapped its fifth and final season, with the finale episode airing on Paramount Plus from December 19. We didn't get a lot of time with Mike but there's some good stuff there: we talk about his career, how Lower Decks came to be and the possible future of the Lower Decks crew.