The Colour of Pomegranates, Sergei Paradjanov’s tribute to Armenian poet Sayat Nova, is a deeply unconventional take on the traditional biography. Universally praised and widely held as a dreamlike masterpiece, naturally I’d never heard of it.

The Salon des Refusés is a brand new London-based festivalette seeking to provide a space for short film makers who are, for whatever reason, rejected from larger events. We went along to the launch screening at Bermondsey’s marvellous Shortwave cinema and found a parade of cinematic oddities unlike anything we’d ever seen.

You know the Cravendale adverts? You know, the stop-motion animation where a cow, a pirate and a cyclist all live together, living off milk and competing in musical statue for the last glass? Well, picture a feature length film in that style, in French and with more imagination then you could use to power the whole of Whoville and you’ve got the gloriously absurd and playful A Town Called Panic.