Awards

THE WINNERS OF THE 16TH KECSKEMÉT ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL

 

EUROPEAN COMPETITION

 

Best Feature Film (ex aequo):

MY GRANDFATHER’S DEMONS – Director: Nuno Beato

 

 

FOUR SOULS OF COYOTE – Director: Áron Gauder

"It is an impressive film that has a lot of layers and a deep meaning. The film’s important message stays with the viewers even after they leave the theater."

Special Mention: NAYOLA – Director: José Miguel Ribeiro

 

"The film utilizes mixed techniques which enhance its storytelling. The music is also well used and it emphasizes the story told by the film."

 

Best TV Series:

PATOUILLE AND THE PARACHUTE SEEDS – Director: Inès Bernard-Espina, Mélody Boulissiére, Clémentine Campos

 

"Patouille and the Parachute Seeds brings the magic of discovering biology and it gives opportunity to children who live in cities and perhaps even in the countryside to have a direct contact with nature and the motivation to explore it on their own. Thanks to the brave and challenging hand-drawn look and graphical universe of the first episode we see that there is a high potential in the series." 

 

 

Best TV Special (ex aequo):

A TOWN CALLED PANIC: THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS – Director: Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier

" The children's vivid imagination created in a productive solitude when playing with toy figures come alive in A Town Called Panic: The Summer Holidays. The charmingly weird characters are portrayed by commercial style toys and  despite the limited acting the film is able to convey situational comedy and emotional reactions. The traditional stop motion technique is used in a highly innovative way." 

LOOKING FOR SANTA – Director: Marc Robinet

 

"Looking For Santa reinvents the classic legend of Santa Claus with its well-known archetypes in a modern way, highlighting the contemporary context. The young audience gets familiar with difficult themes such as rich vs. poor, selfish parents, divorce, and how it affects children but these all get resolved with the power of fairy tales and the film leaves no doubt in the audience that the light will always triumph over darkness. It is all enhanced by the lush and beautiful backgrounds which are hand-crafted and usually only seen in auteur short films."

Award of the National Student Jury

MY GRANDFATHER’S DEMONS – Director: Nuno Beato

 

Special Mention: NO DOGS OR ITALIANS ALLOWED – Director: Alain Ughetto

 

 

 

 

 

HUNGARIAN COMPETITION

 

Grand Prix:

FOUR SOULS OF COYOTE – Director: Áron Gauder

 

"Four Souls of Coyote is a synthesis of the creative and intellectual efforts of Áron Gauder in animation, which has been created in an exemplary team effort to present the existential questions of our time in a way that is enjoyable and comprehensible to a wide audience, and which suggests a way forward. The film is a harmonious blend of handcrafted animation and high creative use of contemporary technology. With the 16th KAFF Grand Prize, the jury wishes to recognise the outstanding professional-artistic achievement of the creators."

 

 

CATEGORY AWARDS

 

Best Feature Film – Pannónia–Matolcsy Award:

WHITE PLASTIC SKY – Director: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó

"White Plastic Sky continues the best traditions of Hungarian animation by seeking new possibilities and new forms of expression in animation. The work of Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó presents with a unique atmosphere and powerful drama the problem of our time, the fate of human civilisation, a problem that concerns us all. The new award, named after György Matolcsy, the former leader of Pannónia Film Studio and a man of exceptional stature, is the jury's recognition of the dedicated, high-quality work of the entire creative team."

 

 

Best Short Film:

THE GARDEN OF HEART – Director: Olivér Hegyi

"The Garden of Heart tells the story of a young man's search for a way forward with sincere serenity, in the language of his generation and in an authentic way. The jury members were unanimous in their appreciation of the film's positive and natural appeal. The Best Short Film Award is intended to recognise a unique animated vision, inspired by humanistic humour."

Best TV Series – Ágnes Bálint Award:

ITHINKDAT: OUR TIGHT HOUSE – Director: Gyopár Orsolya Buzási

"With the new award, named after children writer Ágnes Bálint, the jury was particularly pleased with the work, Our Tight House, which was designed for television and intended as a sample episode of a series, for its lush tone, its new vision and the strong stylistic unity of its graphic world with a high degree of freedom. The film's choice of themes reflects playfully and authentically on today's family dynamics, enhanced by the sophisticated narration and soundtrack. For the jury, Gyopár Orsolya Buzási and her fellow creators gave the jury members an experience of rediscovery and wonder."

 

Special Mention: URBAN LEGENDS: PIANISM – Director: Kati Glaser

"The Urban Legends series uses a consistent visual language, within which it is able to constantly innovate, but which also manages to retain its distinctive stylistic features. Its narrative is dynamic, witty and playful, in keeping with the visual world and animation."

 

Best Applied Animation:

CANTICUÉNTICOS – PARA SABER QUE TE QUIERO (TO KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU) – Director: Katalin Egely

"Cheerfulness, kindness, joy. This was the unanimous view of the jury for the video clip directed by Kati Egely, which won the Best Applied Animation award. The musical short film To Know That I Love You is the best example of how the simple tools of animation can be used to create a soul-stirring work of unique quality in the genre of design animation."

 

Special Mention: TÓT ENDRE: WHY DO I PAINT? – Director: Máté Fillér

"A work with a mission to inform, which conveys its theme in a credible, creative and witty way by combining the tools of the animation genre with well-chosen archival sound and visual materials. Long live the animated documentary!"

 

Best Student Film:

LIGHTS – Director: Adél Palotás

"Adél Palotás' film Lights, whose story engaged the jury from the beginning and kept them interested throughout the unfolding of the story. Its symbolism and the set of metaphors used by the director are ingenious, understandable, and wittily refer to contemporary issues. The dramaturgical twists and turns of the story are believable, the film is well proportioned and coherent."

 

Special Mention: LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA – Director: Ágnes Szucher

 

"A special prize was awarded to Ágnes Szucher's Love in the Time of the Corona, "a simple, fresh and grotesque reflection on a recent trauma that affects us all, and at the same time an authentic period piece that shows promise as a student work."

SPECIAL MENTIONS

 

Best Visual Language:

RESTING FOG – Director: Nikolett Fábián

 

"The poetic work entitled Resting Fog creates a dramatic atmosphere with powerful visual gestures. The artist, Nikolett Fábián, has created a unique and individual visual world, which made a strong impression on the jury with its unified style, sense of proportion and the uniqueness of its use of technology."

Best Script:

IN THE UPPER ROOM – Director: Alexander Gratzer

 

"In the Upper Room tells the growing-up story of a mole - a growing-up story with a distinctly human face - with subtle irony and gentle humour, derived from small, sincere acting gestures. The temporality of the film, the division of the seasons and the unique tone of the narration both capture and hold the viewer's attention. The Best Screenplay award recognises the mutually supportive unity of text, dramaturgy and visuals."

 

 

Best Animation Work:

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – Director: Vivien Hárshegyi

 

For Best Animation, Vivien Hárshegyi was honoured for her film Above the Clouds, which "uses a witty and rich animation toolbox that is almost inexhaustible in ideas. With fresh humour and authenticity, it conveys the life feelings, problems and anxieties of today's young generation, and the freedom of its means of expression had a liberating effect on the viewer, including the jury."

 

 

FURTHER AWARDS

 

Award of the Hungarian Film Critics:

FOX TOSSING – Director: Zénó Mira

 

Special Mention of the Hungarian Film Critics: THE GARDEN OF HEART – Director: Olivér Hegyi

 

Junior Jury’s Award:

CURED – Director: Márton Csutorás

 

 

 

Audience Award:

FOUR SOULS OF COYOTE – Director: Áron Gauder

 

Audience Award of the Aranyhomok Small Regional Development Association:

YOUR DAD – Director: Anita Kühnel-Szabó

 

Award of the National Student Jury:

YOUR DAD – Director: Anita Kühnel-Szabó

 

Special Mention: Máté Fillér (TELEXIKON, FOLKFONICS – THE ROOSTER IS CROWING, TÓT ENDRE: WHY DO I PAINT?)