The FLIP International Animation Festival returns to Wolverhampton this October, bringing an eclectic mix of experimental animation for all ages to the West Midlands.

The festival, which takes place at Light House Media Centre in Wolverhampton from Thursday, October 27, 2011, to Saturday, October 29, will include a mix of feature film screenings, retrospectives of short films and international showcases of animation from around the world from as far afield as Brazil, Canada, Norway, Estonia, Russia, Tel Aviv and Beijing.

There will be education workshops for young people, masterclasses and industry-led panels for students, budding animators and professionals, along with unique spotlights on leading animation studios.

Tickets and festival passes are available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk from Monday 26 September. Keep an eye on www.flipfestival.co.uk to view the full programme.

The festival will feature a number of special industry guests including Jim Parkyn, animator and modelmaker at Aardman; Barry Purves, stop motion animator for Cosgrove Hall and Warner Bros, and Marc Silk, voice-over artist for major film releases including Johnny Bravo, Star Wars and Chicken Run.

There will be a special Aardman workshop when participants can make their own Gromit character using traditional animation techniques, along with a chance to ask Jim Parkyn, oneof the creators of Wallace and Gromit, questions about his work.

The festival will this year have a strong gaming strand, with a workshop on how to develop your own games using the X-Box XNA game platform and a session on how to develop games for the iPad run by Gamer Camp.

Back by popular demand, the ‘How to Create a Great Showreel’ session will attempt to demystify the process of creating that all important showreel to show off work in the best possible light. This example-led section will impart wisdom from some of the most hardworking animators, producers and directors involved in the animation and games industry.

There will also be a number of festival premieres throughout the weekend including a screening from the award winning Brothers McLeod of their animated comedy, Isle of Spagg. Greg and Myles McLeod will also be talking about the production process for creating their new film, from concept to screen.