The 23nd annual Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, announced the winners in its competition categories at an awards ceremony at Racket NYC. Winners of the Audience Award will be announced at a later date.
Taking home the award for Best Animated Short in the Shorts Competition is In the Shadow of the Cypress (Iran), directed and produced by Barfak Studio founders Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi. Originally titled Dar Saaye Sarv, the 2D piece centers on a former captain who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder while trying to be a caring father to his daughter. (Watch the trailer here.)
Jury statement: “For using a distinctive visual style, unique imagery and exceptional sound design to bring to life a poignant family relationship, characterized by love and protection amidst an effective portrayal of the profound impact of PTSD on both the individual and those around them.”
A Special Jury Mention went to Budō (Sweden), directed by Amanda Aagard and Alexander Toma, which made its International Premiere at the fest. The anime-inspired stop-motion comedy unfolds as a lonely widow finds comfort in the company of a stray cat, who quickly takes over her life in unimaginable ways. (Trailer)
Jury statement: “With appreciation for its quirky and humorous narrative and capturing viewers with its remarkably intricate manner of portraying its characters and surroundings.”
The World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb 2024 also recently concluded, announced the prize winners at a ceremony held in the SC Cinema.
The Short Film Grand Prix went to The Miracle (Belgium/Netherlands/France) directed by Nienke Deutz, produced by Lunanime, Keplerfilm and Les Productions de Milou. The jury’s explanation states: This film treats an invisible subject with subtlety and nuance. It uses delicate storytelling and leaves us with hope.
Additional awardees in the shorts competition include:
- Entropic Memory (Canada), Nicolas Brault – Golden Zagreb Award
- Reborn with You (S. Korea), Inju Park – Zlatko Grgić Award for Best First Film
- Aaaah! (France), Osman Cerforn (Miyu Prod.) – Jury Special Prize
- Three Birds (Slovenia/Croatia), Zarje Menart (Finta Film/Adriatic Animation) – Jury Special Prize
- The Bitch (Colombia/France), Carla Melo Gampert (Evidencia Films/June Films) – Jury Special Prize
- Zima (Poland), Tomek Popakula & Kasumi Ozeki (Yellow Tapir Films) – Jury Special Prize
- Circle (S. Korea), Yumi Joung (Match Cut King.) – Jury Special Prize
- Žarko, You Will Spoil the Child!, Milivoj and Veljko Popović (Prime Render Studio/Bagan Films/3D2D Animator) – Audience Award
The Grand Prix of the Feature Film competition was awarded to Sultana’s Dream (Spain/Germany) from director Isabel Herguera (Abano Producións and Fabian&Fred). The jury was unanimously won over by the film’s beautifully designed and crafted animation and its elevation of its message to a new level through its multi-layered narrative. Inspired by a feminisit sci-fi story written in Bengal in 1905, the film follows Inés on a voyage around India in search of the utopian “Ladyland.”
A special award was bestowed on the Hungarian feature Pelikan Blue by Lászlo Csáki (Umbrella Entertainment and Cinemon Entertainment). The Audience Award “Mr. M” went to Sirocco
and the Kingdom of the Winds by Benoît Chieux (produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five and Le ciel de Paris).
Additional prizes were award to:
- Carrotica (Germany; Konrad Wolf Film University),Daniel Sterlin-Altman – Best Student Film
- Such Miracles Do Happen (Poland; Łódź Film School), Barbara Rupik – Best Student Film Special Award
- The Posthuman Hospital (U.S./S. Korea; CalArts), Junha Kim – Best Student Film Special Award
- Žarko, You Will Spoil the Child!, Milivoj and Veljko Popović (Prime Render Studio/Bagan Films/3D2D Animator) – Best Croatian Film
- Windows from the South, Eugen Bilankov (Academy of Fine Arts) – Best Croatian Film Special Award
- Nube (Mexico/France/Hungary), Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada and Christian Arredondo Narváez (Avec ou Sans Vous/Cub Animation/Les Gobelins) – Best Children & Youth Film
- The Grand Mother (Poland), Julia Hazuka (Magdalena Abakanowicz, University of the Arts Poznań) – Films for Children Special Mention
- On the 8th Day (France); Agatha Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Elise Debruyne, Flavia Carin and Thé Duhautois (Pôle 3D) – Films for Youth Special Mention
Coming back stateside, Arkansas’s 10th Bentonville Film Festival — led by Festival Chair Geena Davis and dedicated to amplifying female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment — announced its winners yesterday.
In the dedicated animation competition, the Best Animated Short honor went to Slow Light (Poland/Portugal) by Katarzyna Kijek and Przemysław Adamski. Combining cut-out animation and 2D, the film explores the idea of being stuck in one’s past through the story of a boy blind from birth who suddenly begins to see — but because his eyes are so dense it takes light seven years to reach the retina and his brain, meaning he can only see what happened years ago. (Trailer)
Jury Statement: A beautiful example of how film and art are champions of accessibility, Slow Light welcomes audiences to the complex world of its protagonist. Directors Katarzyna Kijek and Przemysław Adamski masterfully applied a unique style of animation that serves as the perfect guide for audiences to truly connect with a story rooted in the pursuit of human connection.
The category’s Honorable Mention for Creative Innovation went to Belgian director Nina Gantz for her stop-motion work Wander to Wonder.
