The winners of the Anibar International Animation Festival

After a week full of competitive and non-competitive film screenings, panels, presentations and workshops, the 12th edition of Anibar International Animation Festival  (Anibar International Animation Festival) ended Friday night in Peja. The closing ceremony at the Lake Cinema awarded the winning films in six competition categories, in the presence of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

The festival competitions were judged by three different juries. The Grand Jury (Fabian Driehorst, Joni Männistö, Lori Malépart-Traversy, Mauro Carraro, Yvonne van Ulden) decided the winners of the International Competition and The Feature Film Competition. The Student Jury (Blend Leci, Lisjan Bajri, Lorna Çekixhi, Nora Jusufi, Driton Goleshi, with the help of tutor Sarah Lugthart) judged the Student Competition and the Balkan Competition. A third jury, composed of Alban Nimani, Ana Nedeljkovic and Paola Orlic, selected the winners of the Competition for animated music videos and the Competition for human rights.

And the winners are ...

International Competition

Winner: Remember Remember by Bastien Dubois (France). The film is inspired by Algerian war memories collected by the director's grandfather.

Jury statement: “The film has the whole package. It is intelligently told with meta-layers that genuinely contribute to the story's message. It has a strong dramaturgical structure, a good rhythm, is well animated and the chosen styles enhance its impact. It deals with the difficult subject of colonialism from the perpetrator side in a nuanced, compassionate and sincere way that does not close the door but opens it to discussion. It transcends this singular French history and is recognizable and relevant to many people in Western European countries ”.

Special mention: My Galactic Twin Galaction (My Galactic Twin Galaxy), directed by Sasha Svirsky and produced by Alexander Gerasimov (Russia). A film about good and evil, about utopia and dystopia, where narrative and post-narrative collide in a deadly battle.

Jury statement: “A fantastic film in its form and genuinely hilarious. Experimental animation doesn't get any more fun than that. "

Student competition

Winner: Butterfly Jam (Butterflies Jam), directed by Shih-Yen Huang (France). A young woman describes her father and his relationship with his many pets, which he has never been able to care for.

Jury statement: “A beautiful and unusual story told in a beautiful and unusual way. Visualizing pain is often a difficult thing to do, but doing it without the use of characters is even more impressive. This film conveys feelings of apathy and abandonment in such a fluid and hypnotic way that it leaves you with a deep sense of sadness that lingers with you long after the film. "

Special mention: Coffin by Yuanqing Cai, Nathan Crabot, Houzhi Huang, Mikolaj Janiw, Mandimby Lebon, Théo Tran Ngoc.

Jury statement: "For an extraordinary representation of the feeling of discomfort in a densely populated city with a visual approach with which it is impossible not to empathize".

Balkan competition

Winner: Those Who Drown Cling to Foam (Those who drown cling to the foam), directed by Urtina Hoxha, written by Hoxha and Eremirë Krasniqi, produced by CHWB Kosovo. A film that shows a woman's daily battles for food and survival during the war.

Jury Statement: “This film captures the feeling of fear that so many people have felt so convincingly with minimal means. The simplicity of the art style really brings the story into focus and increases the emotional impact. Telling this story through the eyes of a mother, with a strong survival instinct, makes you relate to the stressful situation people were in ”.

Special mention: elusiveness, directed by Marija Vulic, written by Isidora Vulic, produced by JaFilm Jagodina (Serbia). Based on a Serbian folk tale, elusiveness tells the story of a girl of peculiar origin and beauty.

Jury statement: “In appreciation for the beautiful design, animation and craftsmanship put into this film, the special mention for this year's Balkan competition goes to Elusiveness."

Animated music video contest

Winner: Kai - "A Little Too Much" (Kai - "A Little Too Much") by Martina Scarpelli. An American music video that shows a woman who lets herself go and enters an imaginary space where she overcomes the fear of her own greatness.

Jury Statement: “Beautifully executed 2D black and white animation that offers us an inspiring journey into a woman's inner world. Being one means living in a constant roller coaster of all kinds of emotions from being bold, brave and beautiful to being fragile, insecure, unhappy and fearful. But the main message transmitted is more than clear: the kind acceptance of all those emotions linked above all to insecurities regarding the objectification of one's body as an essential right to be and feel free as a woman ”.

Special Mention: Wonderwaves - "Kona" by Shpat Morina.

Jury statement: “'Kona' is a conceptual animation with a strong illustration of the harsh traditional Albanian customs which treat women very hard and which sadly are still applied not only in various regions of Kosovo but also around the world. It deserves the Special Mention award and we fully join the alarm raised by every girl and woman to oppose the mistreatment ”.

Feature film competition

Winner: Kill It and Leave This Town (Kill him and leave this town), directed by Mariusz Wilczyński and produced by Bombonierka (Poland). The film is about someone hiding in a safe land of memories, where time stands still and all those dear to him are alive.

Jury Statement: “A rough styled gem that caught the jury off guard and touched us emotionally. This film is brutally honest and pure. Unrestrained by shame, he deals with human relationships on many levels. A film with good music, well-written dialogue and subtle humor ”.

Competition for human rights

Winner: Where Were You? (Where were you?), directed and written by María Trénor Colomer, produced by Francesc Garcia Donet and Francesc Picó (Spain). The theme of the film is violence against women and it tells experiences of different countries in different languages.

Jury statement: “The film shows the strong potential of animation to discuss important social and political issues. It discusses the topic that is of crucial importance nowadays and helps the brave female voices to be heard as they tell their true stories of violence ”.

Honorable Mention: We Have One Heart by Katarzyna Warzecha (Poland). A man discovers the father he never knew through letters his parents exchanged years earlier.

Jury statement: "A successful combination of animation and documentary approaches, based on real events, a film that is both personal and political, tells us an important story about love and ways to cross borders."

Anibar Animation Festival will return in 2022 for its 13th edition. anibar.org