A FESTIVAL of animation highlighting tales of animal antics will be held in the region next year.

Middlesbrough will host the sixth Animex International Festival of Animation, created by the University of Teesside, from January 31 to February 4.

Among the exhibits will be Good Cat, Bad Cat, a film, by the Seed Animation studio which joined forces with Bob the Builder creator Curtis Jobling to work on the project. It features the misadventures of a pair of very different siblings cats. Good Cat is a paragon of virtue and loveliness and Bad Cat is mean-spirited, evil and sly with a black heart.

Animex Production, produced by Middlesbrough Council Arts Development, has chosen five films from working animators in the North-East to create shorts that will be showcased to industry leaders.

Other animation includes Parapraxis, a film by University of Teesside graduates Dan Calvert and Aaron Blenkin.

To find out about festival events, screening times, tickets and workshops, visit www.animex.net

Published: 04/12/2004