Welcome to Small World International Short Animation Festival based at The Civic in Barnsley. This annual Festival will provide an exciting opportunity to see some of the world's best current animated short films at this vibrant, emerging cultural centre. Showcasing over 40 short animations and 3 UK premieres, Small World brings together filmmakers from across the globe including Japan, France, Hungary, Canada, USA, Switzerland, Norway and the UK.

The Festival will play across 3 screens created within The Gallery@ The Civic: an Awards Screen shows nominees and winners from the last 2 years of the Oscars® Acadamy Awards; an International Screen shows work from across the globe and a Student Screen shows work by students from the Royal College of Art in London, Supinfocom in Valenciennes, France and The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark.

Small World 2009 aims to inspire audiences with varied themes, engaging visuals and a wide range of animation techniques. The films cover a wide range of ideas and stories; 2009 Oscar winner La Maison en Petits Cubes is a mesmerising reflection on the different stages of life; Pixar short Presto is an engaging tale of a magician’s assistant who won’t play ball; Facteur Mineur considers the fate of miners at a closing Pencil Mine who won’t leave quietly.
Also showing within the Festival are 7 films from AnimateTV. Originally screened on Channel 4 in September 2008, these films employ a broad range of techniques from rotoscope to timelapse and explore a range of themes to represent the freshest artistic talent from the UK.