This year’s event 17ou Animasyros Equipped with PPC International Animation Festival it had everything: 7 full days with the biggest and richest program of 261 films – the cream of world animation, 8 competition sections, an established International Panorama, five special films (“Africa: The Animated Continent”, Slovakia, Mexico, Czech Republic directed by Constantinos Giannaris Republic and Animapride), the legendary European Emile Awards, specially selected films for children, original workshops for everyone, the established Agora, the meeting place of global creativity Guests of more than 100 professionals from 20 countries, first-time visitors to Greece from all over the world, as well as dear friends of the festival who have been making appointments every September for 17 years. The island of Syros.
OR closing ceremony and rewarding the awarding ceremony took place in the historic Apollon Theateron Saturday September 28in an atmosphere of great joy and emotion. He introduced the ceremony Artistic director of Maria Anestopoulou Festival.
The ceremony began with the screening of a short film.“Ninety Seconds for Arletta”. It’s about him the fifth film from the series”Ninety Seconds» where the life of your loved ones is in cooperation with Melodiya 99.2 radio station Greek songwriters and singers who set an era in the history of Greek music, framed by one of their iconic songs, turned into an anime film by future directors.
A animated biopic map dedicated to the great creator me using mixed media animation its fantastic route Arletas In his favorite neighborhood in Athens, Exarchia, in the background of his tender and humane song “The little children”, a new performance by a close friend George Christodoulou.
The beloved composer, who was in Syros for the festival, performed “Silent Evenings” in his own style. Arletas and in one the whole theater sang with him the most emotional moments of the evening.
Immediately afterwards, its program director Dimitris Vrachnos took the stage Melody 99.2Artemis Karamanis and director Katerina Kaisidou and director and editor of Ninety Seconds for Arleta Charalambos Margaritis spoke about the project.
One of them The most important pillars of Animasyros are educational events that bring people of all ages and social groups into contact with the art of animation. In this context, 7 educational seminars were held, inspired by the central theme of this year’s event, “Africa: Continent of Animation”. During the event, the audience of the Festival had the opportunity to watch the films that were the result of the seminars and meet the trainers and participants who shared their experiences with the audience.
Prizes of 8 sections of the competition
The audience took a special place in the competition program of the Festival this year and gave their award to their favorite film. The Animasyros 2024 Audience Award, supported by PPC, went to Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron, which received the warmest impressions.
This year’s K.ID.S category featured 20 contemporary fairy tales, coming-of-age stories, family relationships, technology and animal love. First prize “Beurk!” By Loïc Espuche from France. About the jury: “It tackles often-unspoken themes of children’s first runs, peer pressure and the acceptance of romantic feelings between adults and our parents in a funny, quirky, daring and inventive way.”
European Values Award: #ThisIsEU, presented by the Delegation of the European Commission in Athens, won the prize “T-Zero” directed by Vicente Niro from Portugal. According to the jury, it is “a film characterized by honesty, humor and a brief description of the housing problem and the gentrification of European cities in a few minutes”.
Animapride’s competition section features films with LGBTQI+ content and highlights creativity in an inclusive manner. The jury awarded the prize to Cynthia Calvin’s French film Gigi, after noting Portuguese Renato Jose Duque’s “Cherry Passion Fruit” and Filipino John Clister Santos’ “Little One”. “A film that touches us all with its universal themes of happiness and self-acceptance,” they said.
In the category of television and commissioned films, the award was given to the French film “À toi” by Stephane Berla. “A magical music video that follows the journey of two characters as they grow and bond with each other. The animation, technique and narrative are cleverly conceived as a shot that makes viewers look forward to what’s to come,” said the jury.
Bianca Scali’s “It’s Just a Whole” won the top prize in the Student Competition category. The jury was impressed by the film’s unique mixed media technique, which showcases Bianca Scali’s incredible skills as a filmmaker and storyteller. “Each shot is carefully crafted and every aspect of the sound design adds a new level to the viewer’s experience, enhancing emotional depth and immersion,” they said.
Then it was the turn of the award of the Greek Competition section, founded by the Greek Film Center and accompanied by a cash prize of 1,500 euros. The award went to Yiannis Christoforos’ Underground, “an extremely original and interesting basic idea, very concisely and intelligently developed”.
This year, with the support of ERT, two new awards were introduced, the Best Greek Student Film Award and the Best Debut Greek Creator Award, as well as a cash prize of 1,500 euros. The jury awarded the “Best Greek Student Film” award to Robinson Drossos’ “Echoes” for its “enchanting atmosphere and emotional, immersive and experimental character” and the “Best Greek Filmmaker” award went to Kimonas Papadatos for “The Best”. Gabardine”.
In the category of the International Competition section, which is the flagship of the festival, the Belgian play “Beautiful Men” by director Nicolas Keppens was awarded the grand prize. The judges said, “A poignant and fascinating film, showing the fragility of men in a very honest and authentic way, while maintaining a great sense of humor.”