Scotland Loves Animation is a charity that promotes anime in Scotland. They hold an annual film festival called "Scotland Loves Anime" (often abbreviated to SLA) in October and work with other festivals to programme anime content into their schedules. It will celebrate its 15th festival in 2024, which will take place between 1 and 10 November 2024.
In May 2020, Anime Limited launched a new online festival in partnership with Scotland Loves Animation, called Screen Anime. This service hosted 4 films and one TV series monthly. It was available in the UK and Ireland only. The service ended on 25 May 2021, as cinemas reopened in the UK.
Background Scotland Loves Animation is a charity that promotes anime in Scotland, through hosting an annual film festival October and partnering with film festivals and other independent cinemas to screen anime-related content during the rest of the year. The festival was established in 2010 by Andrew Partridge, who later went on to start the Glasgow-based anime distributor Anime Limited. The main festival is based across of Scotland's two biggest cities: Glasgow and Edinburgh.
They host Education Days that run as part of the festival where the public can meet industry professionals in a full day of talks, panel discussions, and workshops. Previous guests have included The Garden of Words director Makoto Shinkai and Promare director Hiroyuki Imaishi. The festival also regularly invites directors to host Q&A sessions after their films have been screened. Previous Q&A sessions have included Naoko Yamada after the European Premiere of K-On! the Movie and Tomoki Kyoda after the European Premiere of Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution Movie 1. In addition to this, Jonathan Clements usually speaks before each film screening to share his insight about the director and films being shown.
They have also screened films in partnership with other festivals such as the Glasgow Film Festival at the Glasgow Film Theatre and the Discovery Film Festival at the DCA.
The festival has two awards, the jury award and the audience award, awarded to one of a selection of the festival's films that year. The jury award, often referred to as the Golden Partridge after festival director Andrew Partridge, involves a panel of judges who tend to see the films for the first time alongside the audience and, after seeing all the films in competition, debate privately and vote on which film to give the award to. The audience award as the name suggests involves audiences rating films after seeing them using an online form (earlier festivals utilised lollipop (popsicle) sticks being deposited in containers marked with the ratings on). These ratings are counted and averaged to identify the winner.
Event locations and venues The "Scotland Loves Anime" film festival takes place every October in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The festival typically runs over a weekend in Glasgow, and over a week in Edinburgh. In Edinburgh they will show more films due to the greater number of film slots available. Because of the limited runs of anime films in cinemas outside of Japan, this is often the only chance to see many of these films at the cinema. Screenings for popular films are often sold-out long before the date of showing.
The festival is held in the Glasgow Film Theatre in Glasgow and the in The Cameo in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Filmhouse hosted the Edinburgh festival from 2010 to 2021 and the Belmont Filmhouse hosted the Aberdeen festival from 2015 to 2020, but in October 2022 the Centre for the Moving Image went into administration, closing these cinemas.
Other events have included a festival in Aberdeen and Sheffield, along with a touring festival across the country. The latter was brought back in 2021 and saw various Picturehouse locations around the country screen the most popular films of the 2021 festival.
The 2023 festival was held in November for the first time. In 2024, the festival expanded to London, with a weekend of screenings held at Picturehouse Central.
The 2025 festival returned to the Edinburgh Filmhouse for a single screening of ChaO.
Previous festivals Year Dates Films Other information2010Glasgow: 8–10 October
Edinburgh: 15–17 OctoberThe Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (UK Premiere) One Piece: Strong World (UK Premiere) Trigun: Badlands Rumble (UK Premiere) Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (Scottish Premiere) Redline (Scottish Premiere) Summer Wars (Scottish Premiere)A special screening of Summer Wars was held at the DCA in Dundee, Scotland.2011Glasgow: 7–9 October
Edinburgh: 14–16 October Into the Forest of the Fireflies' Light (EU Premiere) Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (EU Premiere) A Letter to Momo (UK Premiere) Coicent / Five Numbers! (UK Premiere) Colorful (UK Premiere) Escaflowne: The Movie (UK Premiere) The Princess and the Pilot (UK Premiere) Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem Tekken: Blood Vengeance 3DInto the Forest of the Fireflies' Light won the first ever Golden Partridge award, even though it was a short film.2012Glasgow: 12–14 October
Edinburgh: 19–21 OctoberNerawareta Gakuen (World Premiere) Anime Mirai Project (EU Premiere) Berserk – The Battle for Doldrey (EU Premiere) K-On! The Movie (EU Premiere) Blood-C: The Last Dark (UK Premiere) The Egg of the King (UK Premiere) Phoenix Wright – Ace Attorney (UK Premiere) Afterschool Midnighters (Scottish Premiere) Wolf Children (Scottish Premiere)Berserk – The Battle for Doldrey won the Golden Partridge, but only because Wolf Children wasn't in competition due to it not being a UK premiere. This rule was relaxed the next year.2013Glasgow: 11–13 October Edinburgh: 14–20 OctoberAura – Koga Maryuin's Last War (EU Premiere) Fuse - Memoires of the Hunter Girl (EU Premiere) The Garden of Words (EU Premiere) HAL (EU Premiere) Steins;Gate – The Movie (EU Premiere) Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (UK Premiere) The Life of Budori Gusuko (UK Premiere) Patema Inverted (UK Premiere) Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance Hunter x Hunter The Movie: Phantom Rouge Perfect Blue The Place Promised in our Early DaysThis year focused on the works of Makoto Shinkai. He was present for a Q&A after the EU Premiere of The Garden of Words. Patema Inverted won both the Golden Partridge and the new Audience Award. This year was also the first year the festival ran for more than a weekend at Edinburgh.2014Glasgow: 10–12 October Edinburgh: 13–19 OctoberLupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (EU Premiere) Appleseed Alpha (UK Premiere) Bayonetta: Bloody Fate (UK Premiere) K: Missing Kings (UK Premiere) Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (Scottish Premiere) Giovanni's Island (Scottish Premiere) Time of Eve (Scottish Premiere) Cowboy Bebop: The Movie Ghost in the Shell Princess and the Pilot Sword of the Stranger Wings of HonneamiseThe staff from Studio Bones were present for a special screening of a few episodes of Space Dandy and a Q&A. Giovanni's Island won the Golden Partridge and the Audience Award.2015Glasgow: 9–11 October Edinburgh: 12–18 October
Aberdeen: 24–25 October Animator Expo (EU Premiere) Attack on Titan Parts 1 + 2 (EU Premiere) Empire of Corpses (EU Premiere) Expelled from Paradise (EU Premiere) Love Live! The School Idol Movie (EU Premiere) Attack on Titan: Crimson Bow & Arrow (UK Premiere) Attack on Titan: The Wings of Freedom (UK Premiere) Boruto: Naruto the Movie (UK Premiere) Ghost in the Shell (2015) (UK Premiere) The Last: Naruto the Movie (Scottish Premiere) Miss Hokusai (UK Premiere) The Murder Case of Hana & Alice (UK Premiere) Psycho-Pass: The Movie (UK Premiere) Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: Rebellion (UK Premiere) Dragon Ball Z – Resurrection 'F' (Scottish Premiere)The festival expanded into Aberdeen for the first time. Miss Hokusai won the Golden Partridge and The Murder Case of Hana & Alice won the Audience Award. This was also the year that Anime Limited started a discussion podcast about the films that are shown in competition at the festival. This podcast is hosted by the jury of the festival.2016Glasgow: 14–16 October Edinburgh: 17–23 October
Aberdeen: 9–11 December A Silent Voice (EU Premiere) Girls und Panzer der Film (EU Premiere) Accel World: Infinite Burst (UK Premiere) Kizumonogatari Part 1 and 2 (UK Premiere) Momotaro, Sacred Sailors (UK Premiere) Persona 3 the Movie #1 (UK Premiere) Princess Arete (UK premiere) Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (Scottish Premiere) Project Itoh: Harmony (Scottish Premiere) Your Name. (Scottish Premiere) Anthem of the Heart Belladonna of Sadness Pigtails & Other Short Stories The Place Promised in our Early Days Redline Voices of a Distant Star & Garden of Words (Double Bill)Makoto Shinkai was once again the focus of this festival, as his new film Your Name. had its Scottish premiere at the festival. A Silent Voice also had its first screening outside of Japan at the festival. Both of these films sold out, and would go on to require additional screenings. Both the Golden Partridge and Audience award went to Your Name. this year.2017Glasgow: 13–15 October Edinburgh: 16–22 October
Aberdeen: 2–3 December Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution Movie 1 (EU Premiere) The Dragon Dentist (UK Premiere) Fireworks (UK Premiere) Kizumonogatari Part 3 (UK Premiere) Tokyo Ghoul – Live Action (UK Premiere) Venus Wars (UK Premiere) Lu over the Wall (Scottish Premiere) A Silent Voice Mind Game Night is Short, Walk on Girl Resident Evil: Degeneration Resident Evil: Vendetta Osama Tezuka's Metropolis Tokyo Godfathers Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust Your Name.Lu over the Wall won both the Golden Partridge and Audience Award. Due to the overwhelmingly negative reception of Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution Movie 1 at the festival, Anime Limited canceled their plans to run a wider theatrical release of all three the Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution Movies.2018Glasgow: 12–14 October Edinburgh: 15–21 October
Aberdeen: 7–8 DecemberMobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt Film 1: December Sky (EU Premiere) Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt Film 2: Bandit Flower (EU Premiere) Calamity of a Zombie Girl (UK Premiere) Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flower (UK Premiere) I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (UK Premiere) Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern – Film 1 (UK Premiere) My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (UK Premiere) Penguin Highway (UK Premiere) Mirai (Scottish Premiere) B: The Beginning BLAME! The Boy and the Beast Cyber City Oedo 808 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms Summer Wars Wolf ChildrenThis year focused on the works of Mamoru Hosoda. His latest film, Mirai, had its Scottish premiere at the festival. Penguin Highway won the Golden Partridge and I Want to Eat Your Pancreas won the Audience Award.2019Glasgow: 11–13 October Edinburgh: 14–20 October
Aberdeen: 24–30 January (2020) Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution: Anemone (EU Premiere) Children of the Sea (UK Premiere) The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún (UK Premiere) Human Lost (UK Premiere) One Piece: Stampede (UK Premiere) Promare (UK Premiere) Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System (UK Premiere) The Relative Worlds (UK Premiere) Ride Your Wave (UK Premiere) The Sacrament (UK Premiere) Weathering with You (UK Premiere) Birthday Wonderland (Scottish Premiere) A Silent Voice The Case of Hana & Alice Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection The Life of Budori Guskou