Flatpack in Estonia

With so many cracking festivals happening week-in-week-out, all over the world, it's not so easy putting together a hit-list of 'would most like to attend'. Distance, money, and time usually put paid to attending most, and so the list starts to develop sub-categories ('tie in with beach holiday', 'if I win the lottery' etc), but excitingly, I'm about to tick off one of my 'European desirables'; I'm on route to Tallinn, Estonia for Animated Dreams. What's even more exciting is the fact I'm going there to present a programme of Flatpack shorts.

A little while back, I got in conversation with Mari-Liis Rebane, the Programme Director at Animated Dreams (and one of the creators of the superb Breakfast on the Grass), about screening a Flatpack-curated programme of animated shorts. A few weeks on and 'The British Connection' (a selection of the best UK shorts from the past couple of Flatpacks) will screen on Friday at 5pm, and Sunday at 3pm at Kino Sõprus, Tallinn.

The festival programme looks pretty top-notch, with a Malcolm Sutherland retrospective (Flatpackers might remember his brilliant Umbra), a focus on Canadian animation, and the most recent output from the new crop of Estonian animators. So if you're wondering what to get up to this weekend and you're feeling adventurous, get yourself over to Tallinn (but make sure you pack your thermals).