SIGGRAPH 2022 announces the award winners and lineup of 25 short films, cinematics, scientific visualizations, visual effects breakdowns and more set to appear in the first hybrid edition of the Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater this August.
Highlighting the best in computer graphics storytelling, the Electronic Theater will premiere in-person at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Monday, August 8 and is available via separate ticket. Virtual access to the show will open on Tuesday, August 9.
A qualifying festival for the Academy Awards®, the SIGGRAPH 2022 Electronic Theater received over 325 submissions, which the expert jury whittled down to a lineup that spotlights work from 10 countries — including Sweden, Taiwan, France, the United States and China. In addition to juried selections, the festival will showcase a mixture of curated bonus content.
“The Electronic Theater is back,” exclaimed SIGGRAPH 2022 Electronic Theater Director Darin Kyoichi Grant, of Animal Logic. “I am thrilled to be bringing back the in-person show this year and am even more thrilled to introduce the jury’s incredible selections to our global audience, which offer an incredibly diverse array of content types and storytelling perspectives. For virtual viewers, don’t worry: We have not forgotten about you and are committed to upgrading the virtual viewing experience with more ways to watch and more time to watch.”
Juror Michela Ledwidge, of Mod, added, “The variety of submissions my fellow jurors and I reviewed was awe-inspiring, whether that was pandemic-era visualizations or deep, heartfelt stories. It was extremely difficult to make our final decisions — all who submitted should be proud of what they presented.”
From a pool of nine student and 16 professional studio productions, including world premiere short films from Marza Animation Planet Inc. and Tsinghua University, the 2022 award winners are:
Best in Show — The Seine’s Tears
Pôle 3D | Yanis Belaid | France
Synopsis: Algerian workers take to the streets in October of 1961 to protest the mandatory curfew imposed by the Police prefecture. Directing team: Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard, Nicolas Mayeur, Etienne Moulin, Hadrien Pinot, Lisa Vicente, Philippine Singer, Alice Letailleur
Jury’s Choice — The End of War
Tsinghua University | Lei Chen | China
Additional information to come.
Best Student Project — Yallah!
Rubika | Nayla Nassar | France
Synopsis: Beirut, 1982. As Nicolas prepares to flee his hometown, torn apart by an endless civil war, he crosses the path of Naji, a reckless teenager determined to go to the Swimming Pool. Trying to protect the young man, Nicolas finds himself pulled into a surreal race against war, all for the mere freedom of going swimming. Directing team: Nayla Nassar, Édouard Pitula, Renaud de Saint Albin, Cécile Adant, Anaïs Sassatelli, Candice Behague.
Catch a preview of the award-winning projects during an exclusive Electronic Theater Directors’ Panel webinar on Wednesday, 25 May over Zoom. Registration for the webinar is open now, and the 1-hour event starts at 10 a.m. PDT.
Tickets to access the Electronic Theater can be purchased separately, added to any registration, and are included at the Full Conference and Full Conference levels. Learn more and register for SIGGRAPH 2022 at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.
SIGGRAPH 2022 will be held in Vancouver, BC from August 8-11.
