The 17th international VIEW Conference was held in Torino, Italy this week, bringing together animation artists, professionals and technology innovators from around the world. One of the highlights of the annual event is the VIEW Award competition, the winners of which have just been announced.
Taking the first prize 2016 VIEW Award is Vieil Ours (Old Bear), directed by Chen Chen and produced by Pierre Dron. The jury cited Chen’s “ability to create an expressive story without dialog, a story with layers of meaning, and an animation style that is perfect for the design. Chen will receive the first prize purse of 2,000 euros.
Completed in 2016, the 11’32” film centers on an old bear who is losing his mind. He shares an apartment with a young (human) woman, who cares for him despite his issues. But the old bear longs to return to nature. Vieil Ours is produced by Citron Bien and distributed by Yummy Films.
An Honorable Mention went to À La Dérive (Drifting Away), an emotional, hand-drawn short directed by Cyprien Clément-Delmas. Jurors noted its “unique style, the painterly environments, and the interesting use of transparency to show the impact of a father’s depression on his small family.” The film is produced by Fabian Driehorst (Fabien&Fred GmbH) and distributed by APEmanStudio.
Additional honors were bestowed on Beer by Charles Bukowksi from NERDO Creative Studios (Best Design); Fox and Whale by Robin Joseph (Best Environments); and Green Light by Seongmin Kim, from DF Lab and producer Haejung Suk (Best Character, “Robot”).
The 2016 VIEW Awards jury included Conrad Vernon (director, Sausage Party), David Feiss (director, Open Season: Scared Silly), Byron Howard (director, Zootopia), John Halstead (TD, Pixar), Adam Volker (Creative Director, Moonbot Studios), Prof. Deborah Fowler (SCAD), Lucia Modesto (VFX supervisor, TV Globo), VFX supervisor Steve Emerson, Chris Perry (Founder, Bit Films), Daniele Volpe (Gnomon Workshop), Elisa Cantamessa (University of Turin), Agata Soccini (University of Turin), Prof. Maria Elena Gutierrez (President of the Jury, Director VIEW Conference & VIEWFest) and journalist Barbara Robertson, Chair of the Jury.
