For 2018 we collaborated with the French Institute to present the work of leading Compagnie à (The Song of the Goat), Compagnie Gare Centrale (Ressacs), Velo Theatre (The Frog at the Bottom of the Well Believes that the Sky is Round) and Compagnie Akselere (Sleeping Beauty). We also welcomed the return of Company of Wolves (Achilles), CEC (Peurbleu and Don’t be Afraid), Ramesh Meyyappan (Off-Kilter), Sabine Molenaar (That’s It) and Eric Bass (Terrain -The Ground on Which a Puppet Lives: A Puppetry Workshop). Our audiences also enjoyed the debut of leading Israeli artist Ariel Doron and Plastic Heroes, his sardonic satire about the chaos of contemporary politics in his country. For the first time we presented our usual packed and diverse animated films programme across one day, the first Saturday of the festival. Highlights included screenings curated and introduced by leading animators Ülo Pikkov (Estonia) and Alberto Vasquez (Spain), as well as Puppets to Music: Images to Film, chosen by the festival’s artistic director, a selection of music videos by well-known artists – The Bombay Bicycle Club, Deluxe, Feist, James and Katie Melua etc – which feature puppets.