//_sleeper - A Short Film by Jordan Buckner

As part of BFI's yearlong celebration of British animation, BFI and BBC set out to find the most exciting and original filmmakers working in animation, from across the UK.

The 13 commissioned films encompass a number of different approaches, using styles and techniques ranging from hand-drawn images to live-action puppetry, stop motion, CG, 2D and 3D, and covering a diverse range of genres from science-fiction to documentary; celebrating the medium of animation in all its breadth.

Development and delivery of the animations were managed by independent production company Wingspan Productions which previously produced the successful BFI/BBC collaboration Listen to Britain in 2017.

In May 2018 I was selected by the BFI and BBC to be part of Animation 2018 - a funding opportunity to support 12 emerging animators in the UK. As part of this project, I produced "//_sleeper", a short animation about creepy obsessions in dying industrial towns. The film premiered at the BFI Southbank on November 19th, and then went on to play on BBC Four on December 2nd. Since then, the film has been available on BBC iPlayer and BFI Player.

Synopsis - "Set in a dying industrial town, //_sleeper tells the story of Frank, a recluse who wakes each day to a strange anomaly on the horizon. Black treacle skies, glowing monitors and strange phone calls are the backdrop to this unsettling character journey, as Frank looks ever watching towards the horizon - the anomaly awaits him. "