Aliyah Harfoot is a Welsh Animation Director. She studied Illustration Animation at Kingston University before developing her directing skills at the National Film and Television School. Guided by the tactile nature of the animation process, she works across stop motion, hand drawn and paper cutout animation. She approaches her films with intuition and spontaneity, striving to push the boundaries with an original and creative approach to the medium. For Aliyah, animation is a means to convey emotions that are difficult to express purely through words.

Drawing on her personal experiences, themes of identity are at the heart of her work. Her debut short film Liminal Roots (2024) explores the complexities of mixed raced identity, taking inspiration from her own upbringing. The film was nominated for a 2024 Yugo BAFTA Student Award, and will premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Watch: Aliyah Harfoot, Liminal Roots (2024), trailer

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