‘Return to Hairy Hill’ Wins VIEW Conference Grand Prize

VIEW Conference, Italy’s English-language event dedicated to animation, VFX and games, has announced the year’s VIEW Award Winners. A 10-member international jury selected the winning short animated films based on story, direction, technical proficiency, sound and uniqueness.

“I was so impressed with the quality of submissions this year,” said VIEW Conference Director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “The winning entries have stories that are surprising and extraordinary. And these stories were elevated by unique and technically sophisticated animation styles. I hope everyone has a chance to view these remarkable short animated films.”

The jury, chaired by tech journalist Barbara Robertson, comprised Kim White (Director of Photography/Lighting, Pixar), Alessandro Jacomini (Director of Cinematography/Lighting, Disney Animation), Leslie Ezeh (Founder, Legends Animated; Director of Operations, ASIFA-Hollywood), Brenda Ximena Roldan Romero (Vice Chair, London ACM SIGGRAPH), Mark Osborne (Director, The Little Prince, Kung Fu Panda, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie), Nikola Damjanov (Lead Game Artist, Nordeus) and Anita Gribble (Head of Creative Outreach, Escape Studios). Wacom provided prizes for the awards.

Registration is open for VIEW Conference 2024 (October 14-19 | Turin, Italy); Early Bird Discount is now available through viewconference.it.

Grand Prize: Return to Hairy Hill (Retour à Hairy Hill)

This 17’14” experimental animated film, over 10 years in the making, enthralled the jury. It is a personal film project, inspired by family folklore passed down through director Daniel Gies’ family, about a woman who returns to her childhood home in attempt to come to terms with her tragic past. The project began as a 2D cutout animated film with hand-painted, multi-layered 2D backgrounds, but became realized using a fully 3D pipeline and unique techniques. A small team working with the director developed custom tools to retain a classic stop-motion look and convert hand painted illustrations into 3D assets for production.

The jury didn’t know these technical “making of” details. They selected the film for its cinematic quality, boldness of design, the characters, their performances, the subtly great pacing, the different areas of artistry and the touching story. They noted the interesting stylization, and animation that crossed the line between stop motion and 3D animation. “It spoke to me,” said one juror, “and, it kept surprising me. I watched it again and again to look at the extremely beautiful shots.” Another juror said, “I loved the story, and the craft elevated it in a way I didn’t see elsewhere. It moved me. It engulfed me.”

Jury Award: On the 8th Day (Au 8ème Jour)

This eight-minute film created by students at Pôle 3D tells us what happened after the seventh day of creation: On the eighth day, the world unravels. To show this, the artists cleverly knitted the world and its creatures with digital yarn. The unravelling of the cute, knitted animals and their world becomes, paradoxically, horrifying.

“It’s so unique,” said one juror. “It’s a stunning achievement. Beautiful, with an intellectual idea and powerful message behind it.” Added another, “The style really surprised me. It’s beautifully designed and the subject is very important.”

Special Achievement Award: L’Animal Sauce Ail

In the charming French village of Gooseville, inhabitants live off the farming of species that they overexploit over time. As each overexploited species expires, they turn to another, from geese to tadpoles, until eventually, the Goosevillers lead themselves to destruction.

The Rubika student directors cleverly tell the story in part through advertising and teleshopping on low-budget homemade television shows. “I loved L’ Animal Sauce,” said one  juror. “Especially the character design.”

Special Achievement Award: The Sun Is Bad

This three-minute short film created by Rachel Mow, a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, imagines how an angry little girl in Hong Kong might attempt to beat the heat. She decides to solve the problem by trying to destroy the sun as it wrecks and melts her city.

The jury liked the crisp and fun story and engaging animation. “It does what it sets out to do and does it quickly,” said a jury member.

ItalianMix VIEW Award: Clinical Lycanthropy

This short film created by Instituto Europeo di Design students Emilio Giacomelli and Francesco Pesiri addresses the inability to communicate a deep inner malaise whether from mental illness or loneliness.

Ava, a girl in her mid-20s who recently tried to end her life, sees other people as threatening bears. This leads to her feeling like a fish out of water, so she’s constantly trying to escape from the reality she feels she doesn’t belong in.