ALICE SAEY is a Franco-Scottish director and visual artist adopted by the Netherlands. She draws with Indian ink, often in Paris, mostly in Rotterdam. Her work focuses on poetic and graphic forms of narration, in the fields of design and film. After graduating with a graphic design Masters degree in Strasbourg in 2014, she animated naked ladies and dancing geese in music videos “She’s Young” and “Happy”, which travelled the world and were awarded at festivals such as Annecy, Ottawa and Klik. Her next short film “Flatastic” (Miyu Productions) is an apocalyptic comedy involving manta rays and flat human beings.

MARIA PIA SANTILLO is an independent curator and festival programmer. Graduated in Law, she is a programmer for “Animaphix – International Animated Film Festival”, and she curated various animated short film programs in Italy, as well as the column “Animacult” in the Radio Cult online magazine. In 2016, she wrote “Conversazioni animate – Interviste a dodici registi d’animazione italiani” (RAUM Italic – Corraini Edizioni), an anthology of conversations with Italian animated New Wave directors. She’s the founder and curator of Go, girls!, a project dedicated to female animation and she’s an adjunct member of the French association “Les femmes s’animent”.

ANA HORVAT was born in Zagreb in 1977 and grew up in Vrbovec. She graduated in sculpture from the zagreb Academy of Fine Art. She won the rector’s award in 2000 and the T-HT@msu.hr award in 2008. She is a member of many artist associations. Along with animating films, she does sculptures, installations and photography and has exhibited her work at several solo and group shows. She is the author of two animated shorts, “Crvenkapica, još jedna” (a 2012 Bold Studio production), and “Razgovor”, from 2015 (a Luma film production), and a music video for the song “Želim robota” by “U pol’ 9 kod Sabe” (2018). She is the director of an animated short called “Crvena jabučica” (children’s book by Nine Vađić & Ane Kadoić ; Luma film, 2018). She works as an animator on films by other authors, mostly at Zagreb film and Luma film. She has participated in animating the shorts: “Požuda” (by Irena Jukić Pranjić), “Mutne vode (by Ana Marija Vidaković), “Sanjala si da si sretna” (by Ana Kolega), “Bijela vrana” (by Miran Miošić & Ana Kadoić), “Gamer Girl” (by Irena Jukić Pranjić), “Neposlušne” (by Maša Udovičić & Juliana Kučan) and the feature animated documentary ‘Chris the Swiss’.

DOROTEA RADUŠIĆ was born in 1995 in Zagreb. After graduating from high school and music school, she enrolled into the Zagreb Academy of Fine Art, department of Animated film and new media. She facilitated many stop-animation children’s workshops – at the Tobogan festival in Rijeka, Animafest, Frooom and Center for Culture Trešnjevka. She likes summer, the sea, ice cream and festivals.

SUNČANA BRKULJ  was born in 1997 in Zadar, Croatia. In 2016 she enrolled in the Zagreb Academy of Fine Art, department of Animated film and new media. Sunčana worked on several animated projects as chief animator or assistant animator. Her debut animated short is entitled “Osjetljivi Princ” (The Sensitive Prince). Besides animation, Sunčana draws comics and makes illustration collages.

WINNER IN COMPETITION OF SHORT STUDENTS ANIMATED FILMS

SOUNDS GOOD / director Sander Joon

SPECIAL MENTION IN COMPETITION OF SHORT STUDENTS ANIMATED FILMS

SPECIAL MENTION (decision by jury member Miloš Tomić)

A BLINK OF AN EYE / director Kiana Naghshineh

The Special Mention from Jury Member Miloš Tomić goes to A Blink of an Eye for powerfully using the media of animation to depict, as authenticly as possible, the inner experience of a highly dramatic situation.

SPECIAL MENTION (decision by jury member Natko Stipaničev)

APPLE SAUCE / director Alexander Gratzer

My Special Mention in the Studentoon category goes to Apple Sauce for its original sense of humour and distinctive style. For me, this film stood out from the rest; it deserves to be mentioned and should be seen by everyone.

SPECIAL MENTION (decision by jury member Sébastian Sperer)

LOVE ME, FEAR ME / director Veronica Solomon

For its beautiful choregraphies highlighted by her great skills in clay animation, my Special Mention for the Studentoon category goes to Veronica Salomon for “Love Me, Fear Me” from Germany.

WINNER IN COMPETITION OF ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO

U2 / Beck – LOVE IS BIGGER THAN ANYTHING IN ITS WAY / directors Broken Fingaz Crew

The directors built a unique piece of animation that relies on a binary structure, the real world and the inner world of the character. The video intertwines two techniques to take us on an intimate and physical journey. The clay brings us close to the character and the stunning painted animation makes the viewer plunge into a sensory experience of the music, in creative synchronicity. The video broadens the meaning of the song and has a life of its own.

SPECIAL MENTION IN COMPETITION OF ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO

SABA – SAMANTHA AND SABRINA / directors Marie Larrivé and Lucas Malbrun

From an instrumental song, the directors managed to build a constantly surprising, ever-escalating, humorous narrative, that completely integrates the layers of the music in the visuals. The intoxicating melody is perfectly embodied by the viral cloud, that stands as the main protagonist. The playful technique and rich palette of colours underlines the thickness of the sounds.

WINNER IN COMPETITION OF ANIMATED COMMERCIALS

TAPIRTAPE / directors Studio Seufz

The series manages to deliver its message in such a simple, witty and irresistibly hilarious narrative. The brilliant blend of visual style and sound design contributes to building a tension that engages the audience and makes us identify with the flaws of the character. The repetitive storytelling plays with our expectations and compells us to learn along with the character, as he keeps on failing and trying again.

WINNER IN COMPETITION OF SHORT ANIMATED FILMS FOR CHILDREN

SNAIL THE PAINTER / director Manuela Vladić-Maštruko

The Planktoon Children’s Jury chose Snail The Painter because it was educational and suitable for all ages. The mixing of the colors was shown in an imaginative way through the unity of three snails, and we liked the rainbow-colored snail the best.

SPECIAL MENTION IN COMPETITION OF SHORT ANIMATED FILMS FOR CHILDREN

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING / director Arna Selznick