In addition to the 800 Euro main award at the festival in Žilina, Slovakia, juries bestowed awards for the best music video, student film, video game pitches and video game jam.
‘Sore Eyes for Infinity’
ŽILINA, SLOVAKIA -- Anča International Animation Festival has announced a jury of animation professionals have awarded Finnish director Elli Vuorinen’s Sore Eyes for Infinity the main festival Anča Award of 800 EUR. This year’s Anča jury was comprised of Hungarian director Éva Katinka Bognár, Anifilm festival program director Pavel Horáček from the Czech Republic, and British director Robert Morgan.
Morgan said about the winning film: “Using expressive animation, it presents an absurd vision that is nevertheless rooted in reality. The main character observes a grotesque world, until she finds the courage to join it -- with a helping hand. Although this was one of the first films we saw, we did not lose it from our sight throughout the whole festival.”
This honest, colorful story of drawn animation came to life thanks to the support of crowd funding. It focuses on an optician whose usual day is interrupted by several extraordinary clients, each of whom sees the world in an unexpected way.
The jury also awarded the best student film: “We gave the student award to a playful film that races against time, bombarding us with a series of hilarious and inventive ideas about how to clean up your flat.” The Anča Student Award and 400 EUR went to Finnish animator Heta Jäälinoja for Penelope, her graduation film at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
In the International Competition of Music Videos, Marcos Sánchez from Chile won for The Unnatural, created for Los Angeles-based poet and musician Claire Cronin. The Anča Music Video Award jury was comprised of Kostas Pataridis (Navis of the demogroup ASD from Greece), media artist Heidi Hörsturz from Germany and Beáta Kolbašovská, the Slovak new media artist. This Anča Music Video Award winner -- which received 400 EUR -- evoked “... a deep melancholic atmosphere. It tells a story that takes you on a journey. Minimalistic composition using a distinctive color palette and strong use of shadows describes the background environment while keeping the action center-framed. There is a clear progression in the story from characters’ introduction to the dramatic ending,” according to Fest Anča.
Children in the audience selected the the Anča Kids’ Award winner (400 EUR): the fairy tale The Little Bird and the Caterpillar by Switzerland-based German director and animator Lena von Döhren.
Awards were also given to fledging authors and students who presented their interactive multimedia projects at the Game Days Pitching Session. Ivan and Peťo Galdík won with Zoja. The jury liked that game project created the impression of an atmospheric journey with its extraordinary visuals and deep personal experience.
The Game Jam competition (fast, themed game creation) continued its success from last year. First prize went to the Pixel Federation team’s Diet Struggle game.
The next opportunity to see Fest Anča 2017 winning films will be at Pohoda festival in Trenčín on Saturday, July 8 at 9pm in the Martinus Literary Tent.
Fest Anča Awards:
Anča Award
Sore Eyes for Infinity
Director: Elli Vuorinen
Finland, 2016
Anča Award -- Special Mention
Dolls Don’t Cry
Director: Fréderick Tremblay
Canada, 2017
Anča Student Award
Penelope
Director: Heta Jäälinoja
Estonia, 2016
Anča Student Award -- Special Mention
Roommates
Director: Jamie Wolfe
USA, 2016
Anča Music Video Award
The Unnatural
Director: Marcos Sánchez
Chile, 2016
Anča Music Video -- Special Mention
Sex Bruise
Director: Conor Grebel
USA, 2016
Anča Kids´ Award
The Little Bird and the Caterpillar
Director: Lena Von Dohren
Switzerland, 2017
Game Days Pitching Session
Zoja
Directors: Ivan and Peter Galdík
Game Days Pitching Session -- Special Mention
Duschans Schulweg
Director: Peter Račko
For more information, please visit http://www.festanca.sk/.
Source: Fest Anča International Animation Festival
