Adam Elliot’s emotionally charged stop-motion movie Mary and Max won the Ottawa International Animation Festival’s Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature this weekend. Elliot’s feature also received the top prize at Annecy earlier this year and was picked as Sundance Film Festival’s opening feature in January. The movie recently completed a brief run in Los Angeles to qualify for the Academy Awards.
‘The film tells a simple and strong story about friendship, deep understanding of the human condition with all it’s defects,’ said the festival jury. ‘It is a perfect balance between tragedy and comedy.’ The jury also gave an Honorable Mention to Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s wonderful and eccentric My Dog Tulip. ‘The jury was profoundly touched by one particular film therefore would like to award an honorable mention. This film has an outstanding style and above all, the way in which it allows the audience to identify with the characters and the relationships.’
Germany-based indie animator David O’Reilly’s acclaimed festival favorite Please Say Something also added the festival’s prize for Best Narrative Short to its growing list of awards.
Here is the complete list of this year’s winners:
Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature:
Mary and Max, directed by Adam Elliot, Australia
Nelvana Grand Prize for Best Independent Short Animation
Kaas’ndinud Kohustused (Inherent Obligations) by Rao Heidmets, Estonia
HIT Entertainment Grand Prize for Best Student Animation
Laska (Chick) by Michal Socha, Poland
Grand Prize for Best Commissioned Animation
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, A Journal Diary) by Bastien Dubois, France
Best Animation School Showreel
Rhode Island School of Design (USA)
Best Narrative Short
Please Say Something directed by David OReilly, Ireland and Germany
Honorable Mention:
K”gi Dimensioonid (Kitchen Dimensions) directed by Priit Tender, Estonia
Best Experimental/Abstract Animation
Peripetics directed by Jamie Raap and Henrik Mauler, UK
Honorable Mention for Passionate Art Making: Myth Labs by Martha Colburn, Netherlands
Adobe Prize for Best High School Animation
Did U See That by Yuri Rhee, Ha Jung Kim, Paul Kim and Hyun Jung Lee, Korea Animation High School, South Korea
Best Undergraduate Animation
The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9! directed by Jake Armstrong, School of Visual Arts, USA
Honorable Mention:
Mak the Horny Mac Daddy by Ian Miller, University of the Arts, USA
“Mac Daddy is worth this mention because of its uninhibited expressiveness in animation.”
Best Graduate Animation
Lebensader directed by Angela Steffen, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemburg, Germany
Best Promotional Animation
Nick Idents by Ljubisa Djukic, Ole Keune and Bettina Vogel, Dyrdee Media GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
Best Music Video
Nullsleep Dirty ROM Dance Mix by Stieg Retlin, USA
Best TV Animation For Adults
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, A Journal Diary) by Bastien Dubois, France
Best Short Animation Made for Children
Nicolas & Guillemette, directed by Virginie Taravel, France
Honorable Mention: Enter the Sandbox, directed by Kevin Adams, Canada
Best TV Animation Made for Children
Lost and Found, directed by Philip Hunt, UK
Honorable Mention:
Tom and the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey ‘Tom’s Band’ / ‘Tom and the Nice Family’ (Tom und das Erdbeermarmeladebrot mit Honig) directed by Andreas Hykade, Germany
The National Film Board of Canada Public Prize
Madagascar, A Journey Diary (Madagascar, carnet de voyage) directed by Bastien Dubois, France
Canadian Film Institute Award for Best Canadian Animation
Le Tiroir et le Corbeau (The Drawer and The Crow) by Fr’d’rick Tremblay, Canada
