Accelerate Session:
Non-fiction
We’re pleased to be working with animator and researcher Carla MacKinnon on our next Accelerate Session, which will explore the role of animation in a range of contemporary non-fiction creative storytelling contexts. It will look at how the expectations of what animation can and should do in non-fiction are evolving, and at the opportunities opening up as a result.
Carla will be talking with: animator and director Samantha Moore; journalist, filmmaker, and VR/AR pioneer, Nonny de la Peña; and producer Rebecca Mark Lawson. They will consider production processes, commissioning and exhibiting contexts, as well as specific skills and approaches used in making compelling animated nonfiction for a range of audiences and platforms.
The session will have BSL interpretation.
Tuesday 9 September 2025
18:00 – 19:00 UK
Supported by Arts Council England.
Image: Samantha Moore, Bloomers
Biographies
Carla MacKinnon is a tutor in Animation at the Royal College of Art and editor of the website and podcast animateddocs.com. She has directed and produced award-winning animated and live action short films, curated and produced wide-ranging interdisciplinary events, and exhibited her creative work in galleries around the world. She holds a PhD in animated documentary from Arts University Bournemouth. _carla.mac
Nonny de la Peña is a journalist, filmmaker, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) pioneer, who is the founding director for the Narrative and Emerging Media program at Arizona State University. Her groundbreaking work throughout her career has combined bold journalism with innovative uses of new technologies, creating fresh models and possibilities for nonfiction storytelling. nonnydelapena
Samantha Moore is a BAFTA-nominated filmmaker with an interest in collaborative animation practice. She is interested in hidden and overlooked stories and communities, especially those marginalised by gender, age, socio-economic status, visual accessibility, and geography. She has worked with a wide range of subjects and communities, and her process begins with conversation and connection. sammooreanimate
Rebecca Mark Lawson is a producer and founder of Tyke Films, which she formed in 2015 to produce work from original voices working between documentary and fiction. Tyke’s work with animated non-fiction includes the feature Irene’s Ghost (2021), short film Diseased and Disorderly (2021), VR project The Tell Tale Rooms (2022), and short film and immersive project Plunge (2024).