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Stuttgart Announces Winners

The 12th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2004 (April 1-6, 2004) has broken the attendance record of the last festival with more than 40,000 attendees. The closing events were completely sold out. 500 films were screened at four venues over the six days. Adding to its international acclaim, TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE took home the feature prize.

The winners were:

State of Baden-Württemberg Award 7,500 EURFLUX -- Christopher Hinton, Canada 2002Jurys comment: An original animated film which could not have been made using any other medium. Christopher Hinton has produced a lively film that uses a narrative to take us on an abstract journey.

City of Stuttgart Award 7,500 EURISCHOW TRAMWAI NO° 9 -- Stepan Koval, Ukraine 2002Jurys comment: The director has extended the possibilities of working with clay. The film demonstrates what a typical tram ride can be like the exception being the public transport system in Stuttgart, which is, of course, much better.

International Promotion Award for the best graduation film produced by a film school, college, university or art academy 12,500 EURThe prize money is to be used to finance a new animated film, which will then have its world premiere at the next Animated Film Festival.TREEVIL -- Aiju Salminen, Finland 2002Jurys comment: TREEVIL is a refreshingly original puppet film. The International Promotion Award goes to Aiju Salminen, Christer Lindström, Aino Ovaskainen and the members of the jury are really looking forward to seeing their next film.

SWR Audience AwardThe award-winning film is voted for by the TV audience using TED (telephone voting system).1st Prize 6,000 EURIN-SAENG (THE LIFE) -- JunKi Kim, Korea 20032nd Prize 4,000 EURINSTINKT (INSTINCT) -- Rao Heidmets, Estonia 20033rd Prize 2,000 EURPOST CARD -- Anna Matysik, Germany 2003

Award for the Funniest Film -- Donated by Elektrofilm Postproduction Facilities GmbH 1,000 EURBOZHESTVO / THE GOD -- Konstantin Bronzit, Russia 2003Jurys comment: This divine comedy shows us that there are actually limits to the power of a god.

Special MentionsATAMA YAMA -- Koji Yamamura, Japan 2002For combining traditional and contemporary perceptions.

FAST FILM -- Virgil Widrich, Austria 2003For its narrative technique and energy.

WARD 13 -- Peter Cornwell, Australia 2003For its effective fast-paced editing.

Young AnimationInternational Student and Graduate Competition; Award for the Best Student Film 2,500 EUR -- Donated by Gorilla Film GmbHDUCKS -- Uri Kranot, Israel 2002Jurys comment:For its great cinematographic approach to animation and personal account of a circle of violence.

DASDING AwardThe DASDING Jury chose the DAS-DING award winner from five films that were selected by the public and screened in the Young Animation Competition.UN GROS BILLET / A BIG BILL -- Frederic Martin, France 2003

Special MentionCAI WEI -- Ye Zhao, China 2003For its artistic quality. The filmmaker creates a unity using organic materials and noises in order to tell the story.

Tricks for KidsInternational Competition for Childrens Film: Award for the Best Childrens Film -- Donated by Super RTL, Cologne 4,000 EURNUIT DORAGE / STORMY NIGHT -- Michèle Lémieux, Canada 2003Jurys comment: Michèle Lumineux has created an outstanding piece of art with "Nuit dorage..She combines a remarkably beautiful design, fascinating images, a very poetic style of animation with an optimistic story full of hope to create an entertaining and wise lesson in philosophy, psychology and transcendency, which reaches the hearts and the intellect of viewers of all ages. Despite the unusually complex themes focused on in the film, an exciting childrens story, which opens up a new world for children, has been created.

Childrens Jury AwardSHOWA SHINZAN -- Alison Reiko Loader, Canada 2002Comment by the Childrens Jury: We chose this film because of its sensitive approach. A good mix of different animated techniques such as computer animation and classical drawings was used to transport the very important theme in an interesting way. We also felt that the film, which reflects what is happening in todays world, gives us something to think about.

Feature AnimationAudience Award for the Best Full-length Animated Film -- Donated by Leonhardt & Kern Werbung GmbH, Stuttgart 2,500 EURLES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE / BELLEVILLE RENDEZ-VOUS -- Sylvain Chomet, France/Canada/Belgium 2003

The international competition jury included: Albrecht Ade (Ludwigsburg), former director of the Animated Film Festival and Ludwigsburg Film Academy; Alexander Tatarsky (Moscow), producer and director of animated film; Heikki Jokinen (Helsinki), journalist and animated film expert; Janet Perlman (Montreal), director of animated film; and Peter Dougherty (London), former creative director at MTV Europe, now a consultant for various TV networks.

The Tricks for Kids jury included: Susanne Schosser (Cologne), program director at Super RTL; Koji Yamamura (Tokyo), animator; and Natalia Lukinykh (Moscow), journalist and artistic director of the Krok Festival.

The childrens jury included: Vera Mader, Maren Gerbach, Elias Brenneisen and Thandu Hamnca.

The young animation jury included: Ingrid Gränz (Mainz), editor at ZDF/3sat; Mait Laas (Tallin), animator; and Annick Teninge (Valence), responsible for production and distribution at La Poudrière Film School.

The DASDING Award included: Frederik Peter (Baden-Baden), editor, DASDING; Max R. Scheer (Baden-Baden), graphic designer, DASDING; and Mark Klotz (Offenburg), cameraman and editor, DASDING.

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Rick DeMott
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