Joseph Wallace’s ‘Salvation Has No Name’ Gets Trailer Ahead Of London Film Fest Screening

EXCLUSIVE – Joseph Wallace’s animated short Salvation Has No Name has been picked as part of the LFF For Free section of this year’s BFI London Film Festival (LFF).

Salvation Has No Name touches on themes of xenophobia and the refugee crisis, and Wallace will participate in a panel discussion about those themes following the screening on October 16. The panel will be hosted in partnership with refugee nonprofit Choose Love. Other guests joining Wallace for the discussion will be the film’s executive producer and Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams and BAFTA-winning Syrian filmmaker Hassan Akkad.

Wallace is renowned for his stop-motion shorts, including his graduation film The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling, which was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru award. He also animated the music video for Sparks’ “Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me),” before handling the animation sequences for The Sparks Brothers, a feature documentary by Edgar Wright which premiered at Sundance, with Wallace’s animations receiving special praise.

“I’m thrilled to have Salvation Has No Name screen at London Film Festival,” Wallace told Cartoon Brew. “The film has been something of its own odyssey to get made, so it’s incredibly gratifying to have this event at LFF where we can share the film and discuss the storytelling and the subject matter that it explores.”

He continued, “The partnership with Choose Love is allowing us to get the film in front of audiences, both at film festivals but also in a more public-facing capacity, and we hope this can ignite empathy and conversation around the themes. It’s fantastic to be debuting the trailer here on Cartoon Brew and for people to get their first glimpses of the film and its bold, sculptural visual language.”

Salvation Has No Name is produced by Loran Dunn at Manchester-based Delaval Film. Czech studio Animation People co-produced with French production company Autour de Minuit, with the latter lined up to handle international distribution. BAFTA winner Lowri Roberts joined Williams as executive producer through their new company Rapt. The short was funded by the British Film Institute, France Television, and Czech Film Commission.

The screening and discussion will take place on October 16 at the British Film Institute. Entry is free, but tickets are required and can be ordered here.