This year’s edition of Animasyros – International Animation Festival had it all: 6 packed days, the biggest and richest program ever with 270 films that are the cream of the world animation, 8 competition sections, the popular International Panorama, three specials (Animaison & Ancient Greece, Iberian Peninsula and Latin America & Poland), films specially selected for children, original workshops for all ages, the established Market, meeting place of global creation with invited more than 100 professionals from 16 countries and visitors from all over the world but also dear friends of the Festival who every September, for 16 years, have been meeting on the island of Syros.

The 16th Animasyros came to a close on Sunday 1 October at a grand closing ceremony held at the historic Apollo Theater with the award ceremony.

The Awards

The grand prize of the category of the International Competition section which is also the flagship of the festival was awarded to the Franco-Hungarian production “27» directed by Flóra Anna Buda. “The film takes us on a significant journey through the night and leaves behind many images that stay with the viewer for a long time,” as the jury stated. The Special Mention in the International Competition section was given to the film “Drijf” by director Levi Stoops from the Netherlands.

The prize of the Greek Competition sectionwhich is institutionalized and accompanied by a monetary prize from the Hellenic Film Center, received the “Claw Machine» by Georges Salameh, an atmospheric film that tackles difficult subjects such as war and immigration. The Special Mention of the Greek Competition section was awarded to the film “Watering Hole” by Phoebus Chalkiopoulos for its artistic integrity and its messages that are conveyed in a straightforward, truthful and evocative manner.

And this year, within the framework of the Animasyros Market, the four-day Pitching Coaching Workshop was organized, with the speaker Tünde Vollenbroek, one of the most important personalities of animation in the European community, co-owner and producer of the animation house Studio Pupil, with many years of experience in coaching in major festivals. During the workshop, participants prepared to present their work-in-progress to the public, an international panel of animation professionals, and potential investors at the now established Pitching Forum.

This year’s winner of the Agora Pitching Forum is Stefanos Pletsis with his project “The Fall”, which will participate in the next edition of the International Animation Film Market (MIFA) of the Annecy Festival. At the same time, this award marks the beginning of Animasyros’ three-year collaboration with the largest animation festival in the world, with the support of the French Institute of Greece.

And this year, the public had a special place in the Festival’s competition program and awarded his own prize in the movie he loved the most. The Audience Award was won by “Titina» by the Norwegian Kajsa Næss, which describes the adventures of Umberto Nobile and his dog in the exploration of the arctic circle, a film that received the warmest impressions from the start.

For another year, it was awarded the European Values ​​Award “#ThisIsEU” from the Delegation of the European Commission in Greece to films distinguished for promoting the founding principles of the European Union, such as respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. The award was won by “My Name Is Edgar And I Have A Cow” directed by Filip Diviak from the Czech Republic, while a special mention was given to the film “Cold Soup” by Marta Monteiro from Portugal.

In his category Student Competition sectionthe film “Carp Xmass” by Anna Heribanová, while due to the high level of the films in the same category two special mentions were awarded to the films “Dodo” from Denmark directed by Yi Luo and “Above the clouds” from Hungary by Vivien Hárshegyi.

In TV & Commissioned Films, which is the core of the festival, the first prize in the category “Music video” extract the “Meteors” by Agnès Patron and Morgane Le Péchon, while a special mention in the same category was given to “I Inside the Old I Dying” by Joaquín Cociña and Cristobal León.

Also, in the category “TV Episode“, the first prize went to “Tufo” from Italy directed by Victoria Musci, and a special mention was awarded to “Fail in Love – A Chair for Two” by Cécile Rousset and Romain Blanc from France.

Finally, the grand prize of the best On Demand Film awarded to “Potato Falls» by the Danish director Janina Putzker.

This year, for the third year, the awards were presented in the Animapride category, a category with particular weight as it highlighted important aspects of the LGBTI movement through 22 films from every corner of the earth. The first prize was awarded to the Swiss film ‘Pipes’ by Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier and Sujanth Ravichandran. Also, an honorable mention was given to the film “Maurice’s Bar”, a French-Israeli production directed by Tom Prezman and Tzor Edery for its unique, impressive artistic style and powerful message, at a time when fascism is on the rise again .

This year’s K.ID.S category featured 25 contemporary fairy tales, stories about the environment, diversity, empathy, friendship and family relationships. The first prize went to “To Be Sisters” by Anne-Sophie Gousset and Clément Céard from France. Honorable Mention was awarded to a film that celebrates strong identities and diversity through a baroque approach to animation with excellent use of sound and music, Canada’s Sean McCarron’s Corvine.