17/10/2023 - Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sébastien Hamel’s short and Carlos Perez-Reche and Joan Francesc Tomas Monfort's feature have won in their respective international competitions

(l-r): Jury members Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen and José Miguel Ribeiro, Tender Metalheads animation director Víctor Rago, festival programmer Ligia Soare (© Claudia Popescu)

This past Saturday, the Bucharest International Animation Film Festival Animest celebrated the awards ceremony of its 18th edition to a packed crowd at Cinema Elvire Popesco. With over 400 films and 100 guests at the 2023 festival, the organisers lovingly referred to its 18th birthday as the year that Animest becomes an adult. “Now we are grownups, so you can do a lot of things, but you also have responsibilities”, joked festival programmer Ligia Soare.

Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sébastien Hamel’s A Crab in the Pool (Canada) took home the Animest Trophy, which puts the film in the running for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The short film jury consisting of Marta Pajek, Britt Raes and Sabīne Andersone described the work as “a touching story of brother and sister coping with loss”, selected for its “great storytelling and authentic characters [that] take us into a world of a well-observed reality, which blends with the imagination of a child”.

In a video response to their win, Hamel expressed that he and Myotte “believe that the imagination to film animation can contribute a view to healing and living better together”. A Crab in the Pool previously screened at DOK Leipzig and the Ottawa International Animation Festival, where it won the Best Canadian Animation award.

A Special Mention went to Annecy prize-winner Nun or Never by Finland's Heta Jäälinoja, a “witty and beautifully animated film takes us into the wild world of nuns”, according to the jury. Rosemary A.D. (After Dad) by Ethan Barrett, a touching story about mental health, animated entirely in crayon, received the Audience Award, after a string of prizes at Atlanta, Austin and Cairo.

In the Feature Film Competition, the Spanish production Tender Metalheads by Carlos Perez-Reche and Joan Francesc Tomas Monfort scooped both the Best Feature Film Award and the Teen Jury Award. A favourite for many audiences with its “skilful minimal graphical design”, the jury comprising of José Miguel Ribeiro, Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo and Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen highlighted the film’s “construction of deep characters with strong human dimensions and the clever use of humour to address emotional subjects”.

The Best Animated Documentary (Anidoc) Award went to Elodie Dermange’s Armat, a personal tale about the Swiss director’s Armenian heritage. In the video response to her win, Dermange took the opportunity to show the audience an original painting on celluloid she used to animate the film.

Emy Mirel Ivască’s Zidane Roulette went home with the prize for Best Romanian Film, while Doru Mărgărit’s Devices was awarded a Special Mention. Onstage, Mărgărit spoke passionately about the subject of his film, reiterating the importance of recycling phones and mobile devices due to the exploitative conditions in which they are built.

This year’s Animest VR section included some well-travelled works, including Buddhist philosophy-inspired Samsara by Taiwan's Hsin-Chien Huang, which won Best VR Film. It previously played in the VR section at Venice in 2021 and won top prizes at South by Southwest and the Cannes XR Competition. Another Venice title, but from its 2022 edition, Bambou Kenneth’s Kindred (UK), received a Special Mention from the jury who described it as “not just an immersive treat but a meaningful experience that challenges us to deeply accept the diversity of this world”.

The full list of winners at the 18th edition of Animest can be found below.

Animest Trophy
A Crab in the Pool - Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hamel (Canada)

Special Mention for a Short Film
Nun or Never - Heta Jäälinoja (Finland)

Best Anidoc (Best Animated Documentary)
Armat – Elodie Dermange (Switzerland)

Best Student Film
Above the Clouds - Vivien Hárshegyi (Hungary)

Special Mention for a Student film
Dog, Bread and the Flowers From Tomorrow - Mihaela Mîndru (France/Moldova)

Best Feature Film
Tender Metalheads - Carlos Perez-Reche, Joan Francesc Tomas Monfort (Spain)

Best Romanian Film
Zidane Roulette - Emy Mirel Ivască (Romania)

Special Mention for a Romanian Film
Devices - Doru Mărgărit (Romania)

Best Music Video (Animusic)
‘D'un Feu Secret’ by Cécile McLorin Salvant - Amanda Bonaiuto (USA)

Special Mention for a Music Video (Animusic)
'Wake Up’ by Kowloon - Cossa (Mexico)
‘Doilies & Trinkets’ (‘Mileuri & Bibelouri’) by Maximilian - Adrian Cârciova (Romania)

Best VR Film
Samsara - Hsin-Chien Huang (Taiwan)

Special Mention for VR Film
Kindred - Bambou Kenneth (UK)

Best Short Film for Children (Minimest)
Harvey - Janice Nadeau (France/Canada)

Animation Pitch Prize
The Shoebox - Cristina Pîrvu

Animation Pitch Special Mention
Sorry, I'm Late - Eugen Munteanu
Stejărelul - Nicoleta Miron, Liana Chiriță

Teen Jury Award
Tender Metalheads - Carlos Perez-Reche, Joan Francesc Tomas Monfort (Spain, 2023)

Audience Award
Rosemary A.D. (After Dad) – Ethan Barrett (USA)