ANIMATION CELEBRATION: A showcase of animated artistry from across the globe.

JACK VARDAR VS THE GALAXY (Dir: Goce Cvetanovski; North Macedonia, 85 mins) VICTORIAN PREMIERE. When an IQ-challenged human gets abducted by a narcissistic robot to become a specimen in his intergalactic zoo, they will have to join forces to stop the most dangerous weapon in the galaxy from falling into the wrong hands.

Screens with:

THE ULTIMATE WEAPON (Dir: Romain Revert, France, 1 min) A kaiju meets its match.

BLU’S (Dir: Rajesh PK; India, 10 mins) Witnessing her environment being swallowed up by industrialisation, BLU decides to fight for the wildlife, meadows, rivers and trees before they disappear completely.

FORBIDDEN VALENTINE (Dir: Owen Coughlan; Canada, 11.20 mins) A short film about AI, toxic masculinity and unrequited love.

CHRYSALIS (Dir: Rachel Macindoe Baker; NZ, 12.20 mins) As her planet’s weather shifts unpredictably, a recluse finds herself caught between a need for stability and an inevitable confrontation with change.