Anima 2003, the 22nd Animation Festival, concluded in Brussels on March 9, 2003 with an awards presentation and the announcement of four Cartoon d'Or nominations. Anima 2003 (formerly the Brussels Cartoon and Animation Festival) is one of the seven European partner festivals for the Cartoon d'Or, which will be awarded in Varese next September 2003. The nominees were BIOTOPE directed by Merwan Chabane (France), DESPERADO directed by Yves Bex (Belgium), THE DOG WHO WAS A CAT INSIDE directed by Siri Melchior (Great Britain) and TRAIN TRAIN MEDINA directed by Mohamadou Ndoye (Belgium/Senegal).
This year also saw the inauguration of Webanima Awards, a competition for films made for the Internet. The Webanima 2003 Prize went to GENOMA 2020 by Andrès Liebon (Brazil). GROK by Sacha Boubnov (France) was named The Spirou.com Grand Prix winner and received a $2,500 Euros commission for the Spirou.com site.
The Grand Prix de la Région de Bruxelles Capitale winner was DESPERADO by Yves Bex, receiving 3,000 Euros. TRAIN TRAIN MEDINA by Mohamadou Ndoye was the Grand Prix de la Communauté Française winner, with 2,500 Euros. The SACD Prize of 2,000 Euros went to ALLAH RASH by Benjamin Vanbremeersch. LE PETIT THEATRE MECANIQUE made by the workshop collective Zorobabel was awarded the Sabam/Promotion Artistique Belge (P.A.B.) Prize and 750 Euros. The Jury Special mention for humor went to BEESTIG DAGJE by Eric Peeters. Jury Special mention for the film made by a workshop collective was awarded to UN MONDE POUR TOM directed by Jean-Luc Slock. Prizes were also awarded by Anima 2003's partners. TRAIN TRAIN MEDINA by Mohamadou Ndoye, took the Canal+ Prize of 2,500 Euros, including Belgian and Netherlands broadcast rights. The RTBF Prize of 650 Euros for the filmmaker and broadcast rights went to LA FEMME PAPILLON by Virginie Bourdin. DE BOOM DIE GAF by Cliff Laureys took the CANVAS Prize for acquisition rights to the film. The Cinergie Prize for electronic press kit went to UN MONDE POUR TOM by Jean-Luc Slock. Special Cinergie Jury Mention went to LE PETIT THEATRE MECANIQUE made by the workshop collective Zorobabel.co.uk. For more on the festival go to www.awn.com/folioscope. Anima 2004 will take place February 18-March 1, 2004.
