Cardiff Animation Festival: 2022 Winners
Capping off a hugely enjoyable weekend of special events, short and feature film screenings, performances, exhibitions, masterclasses, parties and more, the much-anticipated, in-person third edition of Cardiff Animation Festival announced the winners and commended films at Sunday night’s award ceremony. The award-winning filmmakers were presented with unique artworks made in collaboration with the festivalgoers themselves who contributed daubs of finger paint to each prize over the course of the event.
Highly Commended Student Short went to Anna Lena Spring and Lara Perren for Sauna, produced at the Lucerne School of Art and Design.
Ava enters the sauna for the first time. She is overwhelmed by the nudity, her thoughts, and the physical sensations. The other guests go about their routines. With the rising heat Ava starts to relax. Finally, she melts away and dissolves into complete ecstasy.
Lina Kalcheva’s 2021 National Film and Television School film Other Half received the Best Student Short Award.
In a world comprised of merged couples, Ren goes on a heroic quest to find love in hopes of becoming complete.
Learn more about the making of the film in our recent interview with the Other Half team.
The Quick Draw Award was received by Bethany Powell for her contribution to this year’s edition of the Cardiff Quick Draw 48 hour challenge, Blending In.
The Young Jury Award went to Shift by US director Cam Swartz.
When a simple boulder’s peaceful existence is interrupted by the presence of a big rowdy bird, he finds himself forced to make a choice between his own stability and the lives of others.
Highly Commended Micro Short went to Laura-Beth Cowley‘s 3D-printed stop-motion short Crafty Witch.
Hopkins is up to his old tricks, but Winny has other ideas. After years of prosecuting and torturing innocent women, Hopkins (the self-proclaimed Witch Hunter General) is about to get what he deserves at the hands – or rather, the magical finger – of Winny.
The winner of the Micro Short Award was Nomino Sukune, directed by Ryotaro Miyajima.
In ancient legend, “NOMINO SUKUNE” was the creator of Japanese Sumo wrestling. He also aborted the live human sacrifices in the tombs of the emperor and made terra-cotta clay sculptures instead.
Marcel Barelli’s sweetly comedic 2D animation In Nature also received a mention for Highly Commended Short.
In nature, a couple is a male and a female. Well, not always! A couple is also a female and a female. Or a male and a male. You may not know it, but homosexuality isn’t just a human story.
Olivia Martin-McGuire’s mixed-media documentary Freedom Swimmer went home with the Best Short Award.
The story of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong that parallels his granddaughter’s own quest for a new freedom.
Winning itself the Audience Award was local filmmaker Joanna Quinn’s Oscar®-nominated Affairs of the Art.
How many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.
Learn more about the making of the film in our recent interview with filmmakers Joanna Quinn and Les Mills.
The online edition of Cardiff Animation Festival will continue to run through to April 24th. Keep your eyes and ears on Skwigly for more from CAF in the coming days.