An I Castelli gathering from left to right (standing): Vincenzo Gioanola, Giuseppe Laganà, Guido Manuli and Mario Serenellini. Kneeling is Georges Sifianos of ENSAD.

Last minute conversations were held at the farewell lunch. Among the attendees were Peter Lord (left photo, second from left), François Darrasse (with pen) and Georges Sifianos in the right photo.

Saturday, the last full day of the festival, began in confusion, as attendees and organizers struggled to identify the large, bright object in the sky that had replaced the clouds and rain of the previous days. It was determined that this was a natural phenomenon and the festival continued, with the afternoon session devoted primarily to homage screenings and appearances by the films’ creators. In addition, Maurizio Forestieri presented the last of four programs demonstrating the various phases of production (which were also highlighted in a nonmoving exhibition across the street) of the feature, Totò Sapore.

At the awards ceremony Saturday night, the Harvie Krumpet juggernaut continued its relentless march, as Adam Eliot’s acclaimed bildungsroman took the Grand Prize in the International Competition. Other jury awards went to Le Portefeuille by Vincent Bierrewaerts (Best European Film), The Stone of Folly by Jesse Rosensweet (Best First Film), Steven Woloshen’s Cameras Take Five (Best Non-Narrative Film) and Atama Yama/Mt. Head by Koji Yamamura (Special Jury Prize). As previously noted, Ward 13 received the Audience Prize, while Hwang Yoo-Suhn’s Nest and NSPCC Cartoon by Russell Brooke were given special prizes for social content. Drebosakat/The Little Chap by Andrej Tsvetkov, Kontsert Porgandi Pirukele/Concert for a Carrot Pie by Heiki Ernits and Janno Poldma, and Busby Berkeley’s Tribute to Mae West received Special Mentions.

In the Italian Competition, the jury awarded the Grand Prize to Marco Bigliazzi’s 3D computer animation, Peperony, a Special Jury Prize to Ladilui, and Special Mentions to GRRRNG and .Cow (see above).

After much deliberation, the Web jury chose Marco Peugini’s striking Paper Sky as the Grand Prize winner, while also awarding Special Mentions to Daniel Bouillot’s visual poem, Boréal, and Gianluca Sacco’s nicely designed jeremiad about noise pollution, Urban Sound. Olympics, an exceptionally funny and well-conceived entry from an unknown named Bruno Bozzetto, also received a Special Mention in the category of “Unfair Competition.”

As always, it was the people as much as the films that made I Castelli Animati such an enjoyable experience. (Last year’s Web Competition winner, the redoubtable Simon Norton, who was serving on this year’s Web jury, commented repeatedly on how much more personable this festival was, compared to others he had attended.) Among those whose dedication and good humor helped offset the rain and the jetlag, special thanks go to Emanuela Marrocco, Sabrina Perucca, Anna Castellani, Liz Fairs, Andrea Zaccaria, the intrepid Dino Orsolini and the platoon of hard-working volunteers without whom I Castelli Animati would be so much less animated.

Jon Hofferman is an independent filmmaker, writer and graphic designer. He is also the creator of the Classical Composers Poster (a unique work of art that makes a wonderful gift for anyone interested in or learning about classical music, available at www.carissimi.com) and a shameless promoter.