Will Becher, the Oscar-nominated co-director of Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon has designed the Manchester Animation Festival ident.
The festival which is entering its 9th year has revealed the new look as it calls for entries for the Film Competition and Industry Excellence Awards.
Given Becher’s work with Aardman Animation and Laika, the design features a traditional clay feel and handmade look.
“As a long-time fan of the Manchester Animation Festival, it is a great honour to be involved in creating the look for the 2023 edition. I love stop-motion animation, character comedy… and bees… so bringing to life this year’s bespoke festival intro will be the perfect challenge,” he explained.
Becher will continue what the Festival called a “somewhat peculiar tradition” of attending every odd numbered edition of MAF this year. He’s previously presented the Shaun the Sheep features, Early Man and sat on the jury.
“The iconic HOME venue in Manchester is a great place to meet fellow filmmakers, animation fans and enjoy this varied artform at the UK’s largest festival of animation – I can’t wait to see the MAF 2023 programme,” he continued.
An animated sting will be revealed in September when the full programme is launched.
“The MAF team have given me the opportunity to explore more of my own work and style and I can’t wait to share the results with this years audiences on the big screen in November,” he added.
“Through creating the look for MAF 2023 I’m exploring vibrant colours and textures in clay and aim to discover just how much performance one can get from an insect.”
Manchester Animation Festival returns in venue from the 12-17 November 2023 and then online from the 18-30 November.
