Strange Beast and Passion Pictures announce BFI-backed Anna Ginsburg short ‘HAG’
Skwigly
Strange Beast and PASSION PICTURES announce the latest animated short film by award-winning director Anna Ginsburg – HAG, a biting dark comedy about breakups, impending doom and the monstrous pressures of modern womanhood. Produced by Strange Beast and Passion Pictures with the support of the BFI Short Form Animation Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, the film will embark on an international festival campaign throughout 2026. You can watch the trailer below:
Our story begins with our heroine breaking up with her obnoxious boyfriend, what should have been a moment of liberation instead transforms her from a regular thirty-something into a hag with snakes for hair. Hag battles society pressures, inner longings, and the tick of her own biological clock. She searches for love and meaning in a hellscape of waning fertility, dating apps and the rotten stench of the patriarchy. In this surreal South London, Hag’s journey becomes mythical as her despair crystallises into a quest for answers and she must face the ultimate test! In a world where being true to yourself makes you monstrous, what is the cost of compromise and repressing your authentic self?
Featuring acclaimed actor Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts, Feel Good, Fresh Meat) in the lead role, HAG balances acidic satire with surreal animation, delivering a day-glo fever dream that makes audiences laugh before landing an emotional punch. The short continues Ginsburg’s celebrated approach of blending hand-drawn animation with sharp social commentary, brought to life through the collaboration of two of the UK’s leading independent animation studios.
HAG was born out of a moment where I felt trapped between who I was and who society expected me to be. I wanted to confront those suffocating archetypes head-on and create a film that turns private anxieties into something shared, surreal and, hopefully, liberating.
-Anna Ginsburg, Director
HAG is the culmination of historical research, jokes and conversations around femininity and ageing. Whilst it depicts the female experience, we really hope HAG resonates with anyone who has suddenly felt alienated from themselves and the world around them.
-Miranda Latimer, Writer
This one will definitely go down as one of my all-time favourite projects. As a Creative Producer, getting to collaborate so closely with Anna and Miranda, from concept and pitch to the BFI and delivery, has been an absolute highlight of my career.
At Strange Beast, we really believe in nurturing our directors’ creative voices. Championing them through short films is something we genuinely value; it’s such an important space for experimentation, where directors can test their storytelling, refine their craft, and build towards longer-format work.
-Becky Perryman, Creative Producer
We’re delighted to have supported Anna, Miranda, Becky and the team at Strange Beast to deliver this wickedly funny, beautifully touching and creatively ambitious film that embraces and reclaims the archetype of the ‘hag’ and the stigmas associated with being a single woman throughout history.
-Phoebe Sutherland, Executive Producer and Development and Production Executive at BFI
For more on the work of Anna Ginsburg, listen to Skwigly’s podcast interviews Intimate Animation: Episode 2 and Animation One-To-Ones: Episode 5
Anna will share a peek at HAG as part of her Artist Talk at this year’s Manchester Animation Festival, 12:30pm Nov 12th at Anthony Burgess Foundation