First-timer AnimExpo `97 in Seoul, Korea was a success. The exposition was a spectacular domestic event, a commercial and cultural achievement. It was targeted at the general public, especially children, and included interactive games, popular animation characters starring on several stages, and big video walls showing the latest and most highly-rated Korean children's series. The main screenings took place in the Seoul Art Center situated in the heart of Seoul's entertainment area between the trendiest cafes, pubs and karaoke bars, a district of colleges and universities. Young people between 16 and 20 years-old queued up for hours to get a ticket, which is not surprising in a city of 11 million, especially after such a strong publicity campaign from main sponsor, the second largest television channel, MBC. The organizers reported a turnover of roughly $700,000 U.S. from the ten day exposition at the Seoul Olympic Park. Tickets cost $6 U.S. for children and $8 U.S. for adults. MBC said, "It is an enormous undertaking for economical and cultural development, bringing industry, international filmmakers and domestic audiences closest together." Besides MBC, other sponsors included, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Information, the Korean Cultural and Art Foundation and the Software Industry Association.

The Awards

Thomas Stellmach and Tyron Montgomery's Oscar-winning short, Quest took home yet another prize; this one the $20,000 (U.S.) Golden Damby Prize, at AnimExpo in Seoul.

The International Jury awarded the Golden Damby Prize ($20,000 U.S.) to Oscar winner Quest, produced by Thomas Stellmach and directed by Tyron Montgomery, with worldwide distribution by Joachim Kreck Film, Germany, for its deep philosophical meaning and humanistic idea. The First Prize in the Ecology & Pollution Theme Category went to the German cartoon When the Wind Subsides by Serbian filmmaker Vuk Jevremovic. Special Prizes for outstanding films were given to: Limbo by Beriou (France); 1895 by Priit Parn (Estonia); Bavel's Book by Koji Yamamura (Japan); Jam the Housesnail by Tatsutoshi Nomura (Japan); l995 - 1995 by Paul de Nooijer (The Netherlands); a domestic commercial Hana Bank by Sun Woo Entertainment (Korea); and a debut cartoon, Mozaffar Sheydaei's Fish in Soil (Iran). All of these films shared the respectable amount of $100,000 U.S. The Merit Prize went to a Korean black & white cartoon Open by Dong Hee Jung, a gentle expression of the Jury's will to support domestic art films which are nearly non-existent. The UNICEF Prize was awarded to Mons the Cat by Piotr Sapegin (Norway).

Vuk Jevremovic's When the Wind Subsideswas awarded the First Prize in the Ecology & Pollution Theme Category.

Each Jury member (Kihachiro Kawamoto, Japan, Dan McLaughlin, U.S.A, Barbel Neubauer, Germany, Kyung Sup Shin, Korea and Yang Ding Xien, China) awarded their own Special Prize, a clever decision that neutralized the different artistic tastes of the jury. These prizes were awarded to: Yankale by Gil Alkabetz, Germany; Tale About The Cat and the Moon by Pedro Serrazina, Portugal; The End of the World in Four Seasons by veteran Dutch animator Paul Driessen, made at the National Film Board of Canada; Achilles by Barry J.C. Purves (U.K.); and Flatworld by Daniel Greaves (U.K.) ($2,000 U.S. for each). With three awards, Germany was the most successful international country for the first time and stole the show from the old animation bastion, the U.K. who has dominated the international animation scene for years.