And the Manchester Animation Festivals 2022 Winners Are…
Skwigly
In a grand finale to Thursday’s Festival, the winners of the Industry Excellence Awards and the MAF Awards 2022 were revealed. The ceremony was hosted by the magnificent and multi award winning comedian Amy Gledhill.
The Jury for the Manchester Animation Festival Feature Film Category included Kieran Argo (British Animation Awards), Abigail Addison (Producer/Programmer – Animate Projects) and Jo Chalkley (Director – Cosgrove Hall Films, Aardman Animations, and Factory).
The returning Short Film Category included Hanna Ines Flint (Writer), Ivana Kvesić (Director – Fantoche International Animation Film Festival), and Evgenia Golubeva (Director/Writer/
And the winners are…
FEATURE: NAYOLA
The Best Feature Film award was awarded to Nayola directed by Jose Miguel Ribeiro.
Angola. Three generations of women in a 25-year-long civil war: Lelena (the grandmother), Nayola (the daughter) and Yara (the granddaughter). Past and present interlace. Nayola goes in search of her missing husband at the height of the war. Decades later, the country is finally at peace but Nayola has not returned. Yara has become a rebellious teenager and a subversive rap singer. Lelena tries to contain her for fear of the police coming to arrest her. One night, a masked intruder breaks into their house, armed with a machete. An encounter like nothing they could have imagined.
The jury appreciated the complexity of representation in this film. It has a strong expressive visual style. The jury also felt the music and sound design complement the overall story very well.
SHORT: PACHYDERM
Pachyderm by Stéphanie Clement took away the award for Short Film. The jury said: “Subtle, poetic narration to tell a powerful story of survival in the face of abuse and the loss of innocence. The animation captured beautifully, harrowingly the pain and dissociative nature of trauma. This will stay with you.”
The jury also wanted to give a Special Mention to A Guitar in the Bucket by Boyoung Kim. They said: “Don’t let the cuteness of the animation make you think this short hasn’t got major things to say about capitalism, community and society – as well as the artist’s struggle. Darkly witty and playful.”
AUDIENCE: ICE MERCHANTS
Selected by the Manchester Animation Festival audience over the course of the Festival, the audience award is the film that stuck with audience members. Ice Merchants, directed João Gonzalez was our 2022 winner.
STUDENT: GODZALINA
Godzalina by Lucile Paras took home the student award for 2022. The jury said: “A hilarious, sharply-paced feminist short that brilliantly repurposes traditional art to tell a contemporary story of gender equality.”
The jury also wanted to give a Special Mention to Above the Clouds by Vivien Hárshegyi
They said it was: “A super trippy yet viscerally relatable story that takes us on a hyperbolic cruise through the choppy waters of one woman’s love life.”
COMMISSIONED: COLD HEART
Scooping the award for commissioned films was Cold Heart by Raman Djafari. The jury said: “This warmed our hearts completely. Campy, chaotic, colourful, a visual feast that had us bopping in our seats.”
The jury wanted to give a Special Mention to Head and Shoulders: The Chase. They said: A high-octane ride with a plot twist to leave you cackling.
IMMERSIVE: GLIMPSE
Glimpse by Michael O’Connor and Benjamin Cleary enveloped the jury enough to take home the award for immersive film.
The jury said: “Dynamic world building, excellent voice performance with eye-catching visuals to push the plot forward in a seamlessly entertaining way.”
A special Mention was given to Lavrynthos. The jury said: “Intriguing use of space to tell a classic story with surprising elements, humour and existential questioning.”
SHORT FILM FOR CHILDREN:
LAIKA & NEMO
Jan Gadermann’s Laika & Nemo took home the award for Short Films for Children. This award was selected by a specially formed panel of 9-14 year olds from Into Film’s Youth Advisory Group.
INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2022
The Industry Excellence Awards are our way of saying thank you to the people who work tirelessly, day in and day out to provide amazing work in animation production.
The Jury for the Industry Excellence Awards 2022 featured Alessandro Chirico (Art Director, Production Designer and Visual Development Artists – Jellyfish Pictures), Elena Wurlitzer (Development Producer – Jellyfish Pictures), Rahul Dasgupta (Senior Storyboard Artist – Blue Zoo Animation) and Steve Kimbrey (Animation Lead – Blue Zoo Animation). The full list of nominees can be found here.
And the awards go to…
SCRIPTWRITING
Alan Denton & Greg Hahn for Botbots ‘Crime and Bun-ishment’.
STORYBOARDING
Estrela Lourenço for Botbots ‘Crime and Bun-ishment’.
CHARACTER DESIGN
Guia Gandi for The Adventures of Paddington.
CHARACTER ANIMATION
Arianna Gheller for Hypno Tidoo.
EVENT HIGHLIGHT: MAF ONLINE!
We had an amazing time at MAF 2022 in-person festival but just because the week is over that doesn’t mean that the fun has to stop! MAF 2022 Online Festival is now live, with some exclusive content, some recorded events from the festival, all the Animation Mixtape screenings (short films) and a selection of the New Voices in Animation screenings (student films).
We want to give those that were at the festival a chance to re-live some of the events or catch up with ones they didn’t get a chance to see as well as some online exclusive content, and those that were not able to attend a chance to enjoy some of the best events and screenings of the 2022 programme. View the full line up for online here.
Those with a festival pass can access these for free, alternatively you can buy individual events via the links below or an online festival pass here. But don’t wait too long MAF 2022 Online festival is available from Sat 19 Nov – Sat 26 Nov, once you begin watching you have 3 days to complete your viewing.