Manchester Animation Festival Unmasks Big Wins!
Key Takeaways:
- The Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) went off with a bang, celebrating the brilliance of 3D animation.
- The event was humorously orchestrated by the Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning comedian, Amy Gledhill.
- Announcements for the winners of the 2023 Industry Excellence Awards and Film Awards were unveiled during the event on 16th November.
- The awards had a broad spectrum, including the much-anticipated international film competition, the Film Awards.
Hot Take:
Who knew 3D animation was more than just wooden toys on an adventure or lions learning valuable life lessons–maybe Simba had something to do with this too, who knows? The Manchester Animation Festival sure did, with the hosannas and cheers raining down on the talented artists and exceptional works at the 2023 Industry Excellence Awards and Film Awards. We are tickled pink with the festival’s decision of having Amy Gledhill as the host. I mean, an animation fest laced with comedy? That’s like a pizza with extra cheese–yes, please! It’s safe to say that MAF was a rewarding display of uniquely imagined narratives and brilliance that jumped off the screen. To paraphrase a famous spaceman, “Animation isn’t just going to infinity, but beyond too!”.
Image: MAF
A star-studded ceremony hosted by the celebrated comedian Amy Gledhill, unfolded the awardees for Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) 2023’s prestigious Industry Excellence Awards and Film Awards last night. The event took place on the 16th of November.
The international film competition of the festival, this year’s Film Awards, had various categories such as Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best British Film, Best Student Film, Best Children’s Film, Best Commissioned Film and Best Immersive Film.
In a first, this year’s Short Film Awardees will be eligible for the Academy Awards’ Short Films competition without the customary theatrical run, as long as all other Academy rules are adhered to.
The Industry Excellence Awards are given to acknowledge outstanding work in the fields of writing, storyboarding character design, and character animation. .
MAF 2023 INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS INCLUDE:
Script Writing
Frank Cottrell-Boyce for ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ (Lupus Films)
Storyboarding
Kayvon Darabi-Fard for ‘My Father’s Dragon’ (Netflix)
Character Design
Tom Angell for ‘The Sound Collector’ (ITV)
Character Animation
Freddie Elsom for ‘The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince’ Ivandoe (Hanna Barbera Studios Europe)
MANCHESTER ANIMATION FILM AWARD WINNERS INCLUDE:
Short Film
‘The Miracle’ by Nienke Deutz
Special Mention: ‘Whatever Moves is Alive’ by Noémie Marsily
Feature Film
‘Chicken for Linda’ by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach
British Animated Short Film
‘All Gucci My Broski’ directed by Harry Plowden
Audience Award
‘King Sausage’ by Mascha Halberstad
Student Film
‘Rising Above’ by Natálie Durchánková
Short Film for Children
‘Dewmini’ directed by Siqi Song
Commissioned Film
‘Ashnikko: Worms’ directed by Raman Djafari
Special Mention: ‘The Lords of Water’ by Golden Wolf
Immersive Award
‘From The Main Square’ directed by Pedro Harres
When Nienke Deutz received the Oscar qualifying Short Film Award, she voiced: “Thank you so much. It’s a film that’s really close to my heart, so this is great. Me and the team are really happy.”
The jury for the Industry Excellence Awards featured prominent names like WILL BECHER (Aardman Animations), JP VINE (Director, ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’), GLEN SOUTHERN (VFX Artist and Digital Sculptor) and ANDREW BURRELL (Writer, ‘Disenchantment’, ‘Danger Mouse’).
The Short Film Category Jury involved ANETA OZOREK (Artistic Director of Kaboom Animation Festival), MOHAMED GHAZALA (Vice President of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA) and ORNELA ČOP (Festival Coordinator at Animafest Zagreb).
The Feature Film Jury panel was composed of CLAIRE JENNINGS (Animation Producer, ‘Coraline’, ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’), KAMBOLE CAMPBELL (Freelance Critic) and KATA GUGIĆ (President of ASIFA Croatia).
The Children’s Film Award was evaluated by a special panel of 9-14-year-olds from the Into Film’s Youth Advisory Group.
The Manchester Animation Festival this year witnessed an exciting lineup with showcases and panels from major companies like Netflix, Aardman, and Disney. The festival recorded an audience surge of 22%, and the industry-centric day, the Animation Nation Forum, saw a massive increase of 72%.
The festival continues online till the 30th of November and the subsequent in-person ‘MAF Presents’ will screen Satoshi Kon’s ‘Tokyo Godfathers’ celebrating its 20th anniversary at HOME Manchester on the 5th of December.
Manchester Animation Festival will be back from 10th-15th November 2024.
Original article: https://www.skwigly.co.uk/manchester-animation-festival-reveals-film-awards-and-industry-excellence-award-winners/