Women In Animation announces the winners of the best short films

18 September 2020

Women in Animation (WIA) today announced the winners of the best short films of 2020 from WIA Class of 2020 Showcase, during a Live Zoom awards ceremony, where members of the WIA board of directors along with several members of the jury, met with the recipients of the award, to talk about why they chose to award these films. A total of 409 graduate and undergraduate student films representing 121 schools from around the world were reviewed by the WIA Class of 2020 Showcase jury to determine the winners.

The winners of the best short films 2020 class are:

Red deer, directed by Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma, a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. An emotionally bewitching and visually beautiful experience, “Ciervo” tells the story of a young girl who keeps violence, submission and independence in a difficult balance as one transforms into the other.

Ciervo Trailer by Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma on Vimeo.

The Life of a Pinata, directed by Elena Heller, Marina Kunz, Raphael Pfyffer and Kai Müri, graduates from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland. A piñata continually lives on the same fateful day, when it is bought by a girl and dies at her garden party. Distraught, the piñata tries to get out of this eternal cycle.
Meow or never, directed by Neeraja Raj, a graduate of the National Film and Television School in the UK. In a crazy musical, a catstronaut travels the galaxy in search of the meaning of life, only to meet an overly anxious space puppy that causes trouble every turn! The couple embark on an unexpected journey together and she discovers a lot more than she bargained for.

Honorable mentions were also awarded to:

The jury for the WIA Class of 2020 Showcase included:

Craig Bartlett, animator, writer and director
Erika Dapkzewicz, director of Sony Pictures Animation
Magdiela Hermida Duhamel, founder of Latinx In Animation & Production Manager of The Casagrandes at Nickelodeon Animation
Lauren Faust, creator, director and producer
Jay Francis, VP of Current Series, Diversity & Inclusion at Disney TV
Trisha Gum, director / screenwriter
John Kambites, producer of Cinesite
Sarah Landy, SVP of Production and Development at Nickelodeon Preschool
Ramsey Naito, President, Nickelodeon Animation
Mark Osborne, director of Netflix
Joanna Quinn, director and animator
Wendy Rogers, director of Netflix
Karen Toliver, Executive Vice President, Creative at Sony Pictures Animation
Becki Tower, Head of Animation, Pixar Animation Studios
James Tucker, executive producer of the DC animated series and DTV movies
Ronald Wimberly, designer, author and writer

With the 2020 WIA Class Showcase, WIA has virtually recreated the opportunities that were missing for talent and the industry during the pandemic. The showcase provided a unique platform for graduate films that could be seen by animation experts and recruiters, hiring managers, agents and studio executives, creating important connections for promising new talent. For more information on the winning films and their directors, visit the WIA website.