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Sunday Morning Shorts: (Dis)Connection

Kilkenny Animated Presents

Sunday Morning Shorts: (Dis)Connection

HEADLINERS

This special programme of Irish animated shorts showcases the work of established and emerging filmmakers, exploring the strength of connection between individuals and across borders, generations, time and species.

On the flip side, we’ll see what happens when that connection is interrupted and lost.

This hour-long showcase, curated by Cal McLoughlin, is an opportunity to enjoy heartfelt and inventive filmmaking, highlighting the breadth of talent and creativity in contemporary Irish animation.

Location

Watergate

Date & Time

13th September 2026 | 10:00- 11:00

Target Audience

General Public

Cost

€13.00

Book Event

ROHY

Through recorded conversations between father and son, ROHY illustrates a father's stories from his youth in Palestine and the years that followed, rendered entirely in pencil on paper, interwoven with audio recorded at protests in Dublin and London. A film about memory, place, and where the personal meets the collective.
Director/ Writer/ Producer:
Yosef Phelan
Two outlined plastic chairs are drawn in black and white. Below them, stylised black flames rise, suggesting one or both chairs may be burning or melting. The background is plain white.
Charcoal drawing of a winding, textured line looping across a white background, ending in a dense spiral on the right side. The line appears rough and organic, with smudged shading and dark outlines.
A pencil sketch shows two intense eyes peering through a slit in a patterned cloth or veil, with diamond and wavy designs drawn above and below the eyes.

VOIDEDEN

With a natural connection disconnected, a ceaseless desire to fill the void left in the wake of progress consumes all.
Director/ Writer/ Producer:
Alan Holly
Producers: Carla Vulpiani, Alan Holly, David Doutel, Vasco Sá
Illustration of a person with visible skeleton features, sitting against a blue and black abstract background.
A glowing, stylised red heart with radiating veins is surrounded by dense, dark green foliage in this digital illustration.
A person with shoulder-length hair stands in front of an open fridge filled with food, illuminated by a green light.

GULLERMO

A mixed media love letter to the seagull who kept me company over the long years of chronic illness.
Director/ Writer/ Producer:
Donnacha Clarke
Scrabble tiles spell “Animals offer man a companionship” over an illustration of a bird, with book pages about John Berger and animals as the background.
A clay model of a seagull stands on a surface, reaching its beak towards a foil container. Two cotton clouds hang against a blue background, resembling a sky.
A blue bird is sketched over a printed page about chronic health conditions. The background is dark, with white text reading, "WHEN YOU'RE INVISIBLE, THE BIRDS STILL SEE YOU.

LIPSTICK

Three generations of women navigate ageing, sickness and interdependence.
Director/ Writer/ Producer:
Éilis O'Neill
A cartoon shows two people eating at opposite ends of a long oval table, with exaggeratedly tall chairs. Their hands barely reach their plates, emphasising the distance between them.
A person with short dark hair and a serious expression peeks over the surface of water, mostly submerged, with only their eyes and part of their head visible. The drawing is in black and white.
A cartoon person with short black hair and red lipstick looks out of a car window. The word "LIPSTICK" is written above them.

ANAM

As Fionn patiently awaits his inevitable end on a lonely island, an innocent voice disrupts his peace and leads him back to the beginning.
Director:
Ailbhe Fearon & Muireann Mulvihill
Writer:
Ailbhe Fearon, Muireann Mulvihill & Seán Breathnach
Producer:
Ailbhe Fearon

UNANIMATEDSTRANGERS

Surrounded by strangers, a woman's memories of her past relationship unravel and mesh with the people around her.
Director:
Róisín Kelly
Writer:
Róisín Kelly, Finn McKeon & Eimear Young
Producer:
Eimear Young
Abstract image of a large, dark blue oval with a white crescent shape on the left side, set against a swirling light blue background.
Two people sit at a table in a dim room with sunlight streaming through a window, casting shadows. There are plates, a bottle, and a glass on the table. The scene feels quiet and contemplative.
A stylised illustration of a person gripping a pole with both hands, partially obscured by shadows, with only one eye visible, rendered in shades of blue and white.

ENVELOPE

The exchange of handwritten letters between characters, with one writer seeking connection at home and another searching for their own place to call home.
Director:
Kavyon Darabi-Fard
Writer:
Kavyon Darabi-Fard
Producer:
Jonathan Clarke
Two cartoon characters, one in a blue headscarf and the other in glasses and a hat, stand smiling and holding hands under trees with pink flowers, casting soft shadows on a sunlit tiled ground.
Cartoon person with curly hair sits on a chair in a sunny, empty room with large windows, writing in a notebook with a rucksack by their side. Blue chairs and round tables are visible around them.
A cartoon character with curly hair holds a note and a small pink flower, standing near a green door with yellow glass panels. Framed pictures hang on the wall behind them.

ON THE BERRY

During an impromptu stop at a roadside strawberry stand, a woman re-visits her juice-stained summers picking berries as a child in 1970s Ireland.
Director:
Niamh Asple & James Naughton
Writer:
Niamh Asple & James Naughton
Producer:
Jonathan Clarke
A cartoon child with short black hair hugs a large strawberry, surrounded by other oversized strawberries on a peach-coloured background.
A cartoon character with short dark hair and large eyes stands among green bushes under a blue sky, looking to the side with a neutral expression.
A cartoon person closely examines a strawberry held up to their face, with a thoughtful expression and soft, warm lighting.
Eight animated teenagers walk together at an amusement park, with roller coaster tracks, greenery, and a glass dome structure visible in the background. One boy holds a popcorn bucket whilst others chat and smile.
Two anime characters, a girl in a school uniform and a boy in a shirt and tie, stand facing each other on a train during sunset. Sunlight streams through the doors, casting a warm glow inside the carriage.
Anime girl with light brown hair in a school uniform sits alone on a train, looking out of the window as sunlight streams in. The train appears mostly empty, with blurred figures in the background.
An anime boy in a school uniform gazes thoughtfully out the window of an empty train, sunlight streaming in, with empty seats and handrails visible in the softly lit background.
Two anime characters stand facing each other on a wooden bridge surrounded by cherry blossom trees in full bloom under a clear blue sky.
Two people stand on a bridge under blooming cherry blossom trees, with petals floating in the air and sunlight illuminating the scene. Water flows under the bridge, and greenery lines the railings. The setting feels peaceful and serene.
An anime student walks down a corridor with hands over ears. Other students have large blue X marks covering their faces, symbolising isolation or disconnection. The scene is bright and airy.
A person stands on a yellow metal bridge surrounded by beams and trusses, silhouetted against a bright, hazy sky.
A crowded school corridor with pupils in uniforms. All faces have large blue X's or crosses obscuring them, giving a sense of isolation or alienation. The setting appears bright and clean.
A girl with long black hair and a rucksack faces a boy and a girl in school uniforms standing outside a shop in a covered shopping street.
A girl with short brown hair stands in a colourful classroom, holding her shirt collar. Other pupils sit at desks behind her, studying and chatting. The classroom walls are covered with posters and charts.

Meet the contributors

A man with tousled dark hair wearing a black shirt and blazer poses in front of a blue background, framed by a colourful gradient border, evoking the vibrant spirit of the Kilkenny Animated Festival.
Dylan Moran

This event is kindly sponsored by

White text reads "ANIMATION IRELAND" on a red background. To the right, a simple cartoon dog with a blue collar is integrated into the design, appearing to sit beside the text.