We think there are very few possibilities to have contact with people who have experience in Europe," festival director Jakub Hura told FNE. "In the past the festival was more about entertainment. But the seminar on Karel Zeman (which took place immediately before the festival to mark the legendary Czech director's 100th anniversary) became a motif for the programme."
Along with pitching forums and workshops, the festival held a series of conversation with leading international animation filmmakers, co-hosted by FNE.
The mantra buzzing through the festival was the revival of animation, not only in the Czech Republic, but worldwide. That was in evidence with guests like Italian master Bruno Bozzetto leading a workshop on Flash animation to a standing room only crowd. The emergence of the internet as the primary source of distribution of short animation films has most professionals debating its influence on the future of animation, a topic that came up in every discussion.
A new category in the festival's line-up is the Baltic Focus, beginning with a Lithuanian retrospective. The screenings ranged from the first puppet animation films along with the Lithuanian documentary The Bug Trainer about the founder of puppet animation. Next year's Baltic Focus spotlights Latvian animation.
Czech and Central European films will continue to be of primary importance at AniFest, even as it grows more international, Hora said. Next year's 10th anniversary will mark a milestone, but Hora is looking ahead beyond that to 2012, when the festival will mark another centennary: the anniversary of celebrated Czech puppet film animator Jiri Trnka.
The festival awarded the following films at its closing ceremony on May 23:
GRAND PRIX AniFest 2010 goes to Lost and Found by Philip Hunt (Great Britain)
Jury justification: sensitive rendering of the highly ethical movie where all means of film expression - artwork, 3D animation, editing, sound and direction - create extraordinarily outstanding and ballanced unity.
The award for the category Short films up to 5 minutes goes to Human Beings (Adamha) by Mashaallah Mohammadi (Iran)
Jury justification: Maximum expression with minimum explanation.
The award for the category Short films 5 - 15 minutes goes to Joseph´s Snails (Les Escargotes De Joseph) by Sophie Roze (France)
Jury justification: A beautiful description of a child struggling with his loneliness using poetical, touching animation and peculiar metaphors.
The award for the category Short films 15 - 60 minutes goes to Dog´s Story (Psí historie)
by Břetislav Pojar (Czech Republic)
Jury justification: High quality animation with universal sensibility, communicating feelings and thoughts of characters using wonderful design and environment.
A special jury mention for the category Short films 15 - 60 minutes goes to Hand Soap by Kei Oyama (Japan)
Jury justification: Uses strong visuals, near photorealistic design and animation to create an absurd yet personal world.
The award for the category Feature Film goes to In The Attic or Who Has A Birthday Today?
by Jiří Barta (Czech Republic)
Jury justification: A beautiful creation of a world using found objects, inventive combinations of toys, drawings, kitchen tools, wires, pillows and cigars. Wonderful storytelling with humour, scary scenes, and a mixture of 2D, 3D puppets, and other traditional techniques. Old fashioned, yet appropriate for modern audiences.
The award for the category TV film and serial goes to Lost and Found by Philip Hunt (Great Britain)
Jury justification: sensitive rendering of the highly ethical movie where all means of film expression-artwork, 3D animation, editing, sound and direction - create extraordinarily outstanding and ballanced unity.
A special jury mention for the category TV film and serial goes to Three Little Pigs - News from the Forest by Michal Žabka (Czech Republic)
Jury justification: creative and humorous take on the subject.
The award for the category Videoclip goes to After the Rain by François Vogel (France)
Jury justification: creative and witty rendering of the clip with a strong moral message where music and sound create a perfecly united whole.
A special jury mention for the category Videoclip goes to Ghost of the Street by Giorgio Poloni and Jordana Maurer (Turkey)
Jury justification: outstanding link of the graphic and musical parts of the clip and very strong message on the environmental and urban problems of the city.
A special jury mention for the category Videoclip goes to Train of Thought by Leo Bridle and Ben Thomas (Great Britain)
Jury justification: imaginative art, accomplished and inventive rendering of the nostalgic musical theme.
The award for the category Advertisements and Introductory Spots goes to Hong Long Century Plaza by Bohong Deng (China)
Jury justification: highly sophisticated, creative, and artistically and technically well mastered rendering of the commercial theme.
A special jury mention for the category Advertisements and Introductory Spots goes to
Communicate by Erick Oh (USA)
Jury justification: artistically remarkable and highly original concept, ethical message of the commercial order.
The award of the category Student films goes to I am Simon by Tünde Molnár (Hungary)
Jury Justification: high level of mastering the philosophical theme by expressing civilization‘s problem of defining personal freedoms, using inventive animation and the director´s brilliant metaphor.
A special jury mention for the category Student films goes to Orslolya by Bella Szederkényi (Hungary)
Jury justification: witty and simple solution of the problem of „diversity" amidst the real society, this is an accomplished animation and has a suprising and optimistic punchline.
The award for the category Films made by children goes to
The Lion at Home by the children at the Bricknell Primary School (Great Britain)
Jury justification: The children´s jury selected this film unanimously for its originality, meaningful story line and beautiful art.
A special jury mention for the category Films made by children goes to
Last five, only, by Zuzana Jungmanová (Great Britain)
The Teplice City Award on the basis of audience voting goes to
In The Attic or Who Has A Birthday Today? by Jiří Barta (Czech Republic)
