Festival Stop Motion Montréal announces the winners of the 2021 award

The winners of the 13th Festival Stop Motion Montreal, during a virtual awards ceremony for the short film competition categories broadcast live from the festival's Facebook page, with special prizes announced during the closing ceremony in live streaming. This year, the panel of film industry professionals included directors Birutė Sodeikaitė, Daniel Sterlin-Altman and producer Melanie Jackson.

A total of 10 short films were presented during the 101 days of the festival. The organization's first free outdoor screening attracted more than 170 spectators. Three online networking sessions and three special events (round table, conference, Q&A) were offered to the public and industry professionals. Eighty-two directors participated in this thirteenth edition and 35 interviews were made with them by the festival co-director Marie Valade which are available for viewing on the Festival's Facebook page. The Festival team also noted a significant increase in audience participation for this second virtual edition, with 230 passes sold this year, almost double compared to 2020.

The winners are:

BEST YOUTH FILM: Fresh Breeze (cool breeze) by Gabriella Coumau, Alyx Ecalle, Saliha Sittler and Constantin Rytz (France, 2021)
"For its playful and entertaining story, the creation of sweet comic moments of a universal theme, the adorable design and atmosphere of the characters, as well as its captivating soundtrack."

Two special mentions were awarded to Le Secret de Monsieur Nostoc by Maxime Marion and Patrice Seiler (France, 2021) and to Tulip by Andrea Love and Phoebe Wahl (United States, 2020).

BEST EMERGING TALENT FILM: Love Is Just a Death Away (Love is only a death away) by Bára Anna Stejskalová (Czech Republic, 2020)
"For its heartfelt and surprising story, visceral and moving, for its excellent editing and narrative structure, and for making a worm crouched on a vampire's body sweet and adorable."

A special mention was given to O Black Hole! by Renee Zhan (UK, 2020).

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM: Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice (Angakusajaujuq: the shaman apprentice) by Zacharias Kunuk (Canada, 2021)
“For its excellence and originality in the techniques; light design, animation, scenography and camera. For its value in recording and representing oral histories in an intimate and compassionate way and for the effective creation of an immersive world ”.

A special mention was given to The Girl with the Rivet Gun (The Girl with the Riveter Gun) by Danielle Ash, Anne De Mare and Kirsten Kelly (United States, 2020).

BEST PROFESSIONAL FILM: Üks imeline mees (A more exquisite man) by Jonas Taul (Estonia, 2021)
“For the exceptional technique and control of the images, the highly creative use of light and the camera and the simple but refined pun to tell a story. A film that deserves to be seen again and again, it was something we had never seen before ”.

A special mention was given to I, Barnabe by Jean-François Lévesque (Canada, 2020).

PUBLIC CHOICE AWARD: Meow or never  by Neeraja Raj (UK, 2020)

SPECIAL NAD-UQAC SCHOOL AWARD for a Canadian director: Bistro Girls by Jenna Marks (Canada, 2021)

Stop Motion Festival Montréal is the first festival in the world dedicated to the art of stop-motion animation. The organization's mission is to provide a platform for artists and promote local and international artisan cinema, contributing to the development of a worldwide stop-motion community.

www.stopmotionmontreal.com