The 37th Anima international animation festival of Brussels came to a close Sunday evening with a much anticipated awards ceremony, capping 10 days of film programs, concerts, special appearances, workshops, masterclasses and more. The awards jury revealed that Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s The Burden (Min Börda) was this year’s Grand Prix winner, receiving the 2,500 euro purse from the Brussels-Capital Region. The Swedish filmmaker is a two-time winner, having received the 2015 Grand Prix for Bath House. Ali Soozandeh’s debut film Tehran Taboo notably took both the Audience Award for Best Feature and the BeTV Award for Best Feature. After the well deserved prizes were distributed, attendees were treated to a screening of Korean feature The Shower with director Jae-hoon Ahn, and the winning films.
The international jury was comprised of Pierre-Luc Granjon (France), Janet Perlman (Canada) and Jose Miguel Ribeiro (Portugal). All the European prizewinning films awarded at Anima are now eligible for the Emile Awards, the Anima Grand Prix is also an Oscar qualifying award.
This year’s Anima attracted an estimated 45,000 visitors and screened more than 325 films from all corners of the world. Especially popular were the full-house Valentine’s Day program “Crazy Love,” screenings of Tehran Taboo and Oscar nominee The Breadwinner; kiddy fare such as Ernest & Celestine in Winter, Early Man and La cabane à histoires also sold out screenings. Attendees also flocked to the Cocktail Factory installation, the Nukufilm showcase and the exhibition of original paintings from Loving Vincent — film artist Piotr Dominiak was in attendance to create a live painting demonstrating the production’s process. In all, Anima 2018 welcomed 73 special guests from 17 countries.
The list of winners follows. You can learn more about the festival at www.animafestival.be; the next edition will take place March 1-10, 2019 in Brussels.
INTERNATIONAL JURY AWARDS
Grand Prix for Best Short Film (provided by the Brussels-Capital Region)
Min Börda (The Burden), Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Sweden
Special Jury Award
Weekends, Trevor Jimenez, USA
Special Mention: Kötü Kız, Ayce Kartal, France/Turkey
Best Student Short Film
(software licence TVPaint Animation 11 Standard Edition)
Räuber & Gendarm (Cops & Robbers), Florian Maubach, Germany
Special Mentions: Petit Astre, Etienne Baillieu, France and Pombo Loves You, Steve Warne, UK
Best Short Film for a Young Audience (junior jury: Ceci n’est pas un buzz and Ouftivi)
(purchase of broadcast rights on Ouftivi)
La Boite, Eliott Belrose, Carole Favier, Loïcia Lagillier, Aloïs Mathé, Juliette Perrey, Joran Rivet, France
Special Mention: Löwe, Julia Ocker, Germany
INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE AWARDS
Best Feature (provided by FedEx: voucher worth 2,500 €)
Tehran Taboo, Ali Soozandeh, Germany
Best Short Film
The Green Bird, Pierre Perveyrie & Maximilien Bougeois, France
Best Short Film for a Young Audience
Ameise, Julia Ocker, Germany
Animated Night Audience Award for Best Short Film
Voyagers, Gauthier Ammeux & Valentine Baillon, France
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER PRIZES
BeTV Award for Best Feature (purchase of broadcasting rights)
Tehran Taboo, Ali Soozandeh, Germany
Creative Revelation Award (2,500 € provided by the Korean Cultural Centre)
My Mamma Is Bossies, Naomi van Niekerk, South Africa
Critics Award for Best Short Film (UPCB / UCC)
Hedgehog’s Home, Eva Cvijanović, Croatia/Canada
NATIONAL JURY AWARDS
Best Belgian Short Film (offered by the Sabam, 2,500€)
Wildebeest, Nicolas Keppens & Matthias Phlips, Belgium
Grand Prix for Best Short Film from the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (provided by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, 2,500€)
Simbiosis Carnal, Rocío Álvarez, Belgium
Author Award (provided by the SACD, 2,500€)
Wildebeest, Nicolas Keppens & Matthias Phlips, Belgium
NATIONAL PARTNER PRIZES
BeTV Award (purchase of broadcasting rights)
A chacun sa malédiction, Lorène Yavo, Belgium
RTBF-La Trois Award (purchase of broadcasting rights)
Le Marcheur, Frédéric Hainaut, Belgium
Cinergie Award (electronic press kit)
Simbiosis Carnal, Rocío Álvarez, Belgium
