Channel 4: Eye Openers

For anyone curious about independent, offbeat and inventive short films, Channel 4’s various late night short film programmes have long since been a haven and a source of education for film-lovers.

For anyone curious about independent, offbeat and inventive short films, Channel 4’s various late night short film programmes (Eleventh Hour, Midnight Underground, The Shooting Gallery, etc) have long since been a haven and a source of education for film-lovers. Thankfully the broadcaster continues to champion animation and experimental work through its short form arts strand Random Acts short film award, we asked a select group of curators, filmmakers, and commissioners to pick a Channel 4 discovery that left its mark on them.

Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers (dir. Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjärne Nilsson) Sweden, 2001 – 10min Selected by Flatpack programmer Sam Groves

The Old Man of the Sea (dir. Chris Newby) UK, 1989 – 21min Selected by Animate Projects co-director Gary Thomas

Mongoloid – Devo (dir. Bruce Conner) US, 1978 – 4min Selected by filmmaker Nick Abrahams

Stepford Lives (dir. Jacques Peretti) UK, 2002 – 25min Selected by London Film Festival programmer Kate Taylor

Tango (dir. Zbigniew Rybczyński) Poland, 1980 – 8min Selected by animator Barry Purves

Radkey – Glore (dir. Nicos Livesey) UK, 2015 – 2min Selected by Random Acts Editor Pegah Farahmand