Award goes to:
Misaligned (2022)
Marta Magnuska, Animoon/Atom Art
Justification: This film uses the space of the flat white screen freely. It tells the story with a clever use of metaphor, and expressive and efficient drawings that portray routine movements until they become distressing. To a film that is not aligned: Misaligned!
VR@ANIMATEKA AWARD
Awarded for films in the VR@Animateka programme. A monetary award in the amount of €1,000.
Award goes to:
Flow VR (2023)
Adriaan Lokman, Lucid Realities/Valk Productions
Justification: In this film we materialize abstract images through realistic sound design. Delicate lines give a flowing physical experience. Our VR@Animateka Award goes to: FLOW VR.
YOUNG TALENT STUDENT JURY AWARD
Awarded for films in the European Young Talents Competition Programme. A monetary award in the amount of €1,000 is presented jointly by the School of Arts (University of Nova Gorica) and Academy of Fine Arts and Design (University of Ljubljana).
Special mention:
The Eastern Rain (2023)
Milly Jencken, Estonian Academy of Arts
Justification: With coarse strokes and surreal abstraction of shots, the filmmaker takes the audience into a new dimension. The three-dimensional journey allows everyone to join in on the path to self-discovery. With every repetition, elements acquire a new meaning. The mixed techniques of charcoal and oil paint enhance the depiction of the common events brought forth in an experimental way, while forming a contrast that underpins the film’s visual identity and creates a kinaesthetic dynamic. The sound is focused and in harmony with the visuals, with the bell playing a significant role. The special mention goes to The Eastern Rain (Milly Jencken).
Award goes to:
It's Just a Whole (2023)
Bianca Scali, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Justification: The atmosphere of the entire film is based on a seemingly simple issue one faces daily: an irrational fear. In the story, this is shown through paper elements and the density/lightness of lines and forms. The sentiment of the space rests on the contrast between white paper and black lines, combined with embossing. The story is conveyed through the softness and crudeness of the relationship between the main protagonist and her immediate environment during a routine medical check-up. Adding value and weight to the film as a whole and its sense of connection is the continuously present fluid intertwinement of materials and skin. The filmmaker demonstrates a good command of expressive means, which she combines masterfully to benefit her story. The fear experienced by the protagonist creates a universal experience anyone can relate to. The Young Talent Student Jury Award goes to It's Just a Whole (Bianca Scali).
THE ELEPHANT CHILDREN JURY AWARD
Awarded for films in the Elephant in Competition programme. A monetary award in the amount of €1,000.
Award goes to:
Head in the Clouds (2023)
Rémi Durin, Les Films du Nord/La Boîte,… Productions/Pictanovo
Justification: Members of the children jury are awarding a film that stands out in terms of both its visual style, using beautiful colours, and its message, as it encourages us to appreciate more the nature that surrounds us.
THE ELEPHANT AUDIENCE AWARD
Awarded for films in the Elephant in Competition programme. A monetary award in the amount of €1,000.
Award goes to:
Muri the Cat: The Dance (2023)
Jernej Žmitek, Invida/Mediainteractie/RTVS/Jure Vizjak
;DSAF AUDIENCE AWARD
Awarded for films in the Main Competition. A monetary award in the amount of €1,000 is presented by the Slovene Animated Film Association.
Award goes to:
Hardly working (2022)
Total refusal
SPECIAL MENTIONS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GRAND JURY:
SPECIAL MENTION Dahee Jeong
Hardly working (2022)
Total refusal
Justification: This clever film repeatedly shows people stuck in inescapable fates doing the same work. This comedy becomes a tragedy. Can we say that they are no different from us?
SPECIAL MENTION Mihai Mitrică
Sweet Dreams (2022)
Maria Zilli, Sara Priorelli
Justification: For the smart way of using dark humour and the perfect timing in order to ilustrate and reveal a moment in the life of the main character who is stuck in her monotonous work life. Sometimes sweet dreams are made of this!
SPECIAL MENTION Naomi van Niekerk
Eeava (2022)
Morten Tšinakov, Lucija Mrzljak, Adriatic Animation/Eesti Joonisfilm
Justification: This poetic film finds humour in a situation of grief. An elegy becomes absurd and feels true to how we experience loss.
SPECIAL MENTION Alexandra Ramires
Aleph (2023)
Slobodan Tomić, Zagreb films
Justification: Through hard lines and organic metamorphoses, this film transports us to an idea of madness. A journey that reminds us of fanzines, Arte Bruta and punk aesthetics with all the freedom and expression we recognize in them. It’s nice to see this freedom in an animation film.
SPECIAL MENTION Nikki Schuster
Depersonalisation (2022)
Spartak Jordanov, Screening Emotions
Justification: A powerful metamorphosis of dissolving and absorbing images, until the fluid process solidifies. Movements of liquid paint visualize the process of loss of individuality.
