One of the few remaining spaces for genuine creative experimentation in commercial animation nowadays is the festival signal film. The latest batch from this fall’s festival season has been agreeably ambitious in both concept and execution. Herein we present four recent signal films that illustrate the possibilities of this unique format.

Festival Blanc 2015 (Spain)
Written and directed by Olga Capdevila & Genís Rigol
Ilustration by Olga Capdevila
Animation by Genís Rigol
Concept by Can Cun
Sound design by Noiz.es
Typography by Joancarles Casasín

FMX 2016 (Germany)
From the festival press release:

The FMX trailers are traditionally created by students of the Institute of Animation, Effects and Digital Postproduction at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in their third year of study. The 2016 trailer Jazz Orgie was created by Irina Rubina. Rubina, who cites El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian and Alexander Rodchenko among her sources of inspiration, aimed at combining constructivism, buoyant jazz, and dance. “Jazz Orgie is a visual and musical groove experience in less than one minute,” said Rubina. “I absolutely love the idea that the film’s spirit erupts at FMX.”

Les Sommets du cinéma d’animation 2015 (Canada)
Direction, drawings and animation: Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Sound design: Olivier Calvert
Drums: Anhtu Vu
Production: Cinémathèque québécoise

KLIK! 2015 (The Netherlands)
Relalted to the festival’s 2015 theme of handmade/traditional animation, the opening is “a tribute to getting your hands dirty, and enjoying the act of creating life.”

Made by Blend
Team: Katie Falk, Eeke Beuger, DobleCapa, Gabe Moon, Inkclear, Jon Rolph
Music: Pararrayos Studio feat. Fran Mejia & Leo Aldrey
Alto Sax: Alexis Rendón
Trombone: Albert Costa
Additional Sound Design: Mauricio Villaseñor
Special Collaborations: Joan Moreno, Ricardo Leite, Marta Veludo, Gala Garrido, Noa Verhofstad

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