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World Festival of Animated Film /
feature film edition 31 May - 5 June 2011
World Festival of Animated Film / feature film edition 31 May - 5 June 2011
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Film My Dog Tulip wins 21st Animafest Grand Prix; Special Mention to Metropia
06/04/2011

The 21st World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb awarded its Grand Prix to the American film My Dog Tulip by Paul Fierlinger. The jury consisting of Paul Driessen, David Silverman and Dunja Janković also awarded the Special Mention, to the Swedish film Metropia by Tarik Saleh. The award ceremony took place last night at Europa cinema, and the rich festival programme continues today in Europa and Tuškanac cinemas. After Zagreb, some of the films from Animafest’s programme will be made available to animation fans from Rijeka. Animafest will pay a visit to Rijeka 10-12 June in Art kino Croatia.

The three-member jury of the 21st World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb, consisting of Paul Driessen, world-renowned prolific animator; David Silverman, American animator, The Simpsons director; and Dunja Janković, Croatian illustrator and comic book artist, have awarded the Grand Prix to the best out of nine films from this year’s Grand Competition – the American film My Dog Tulip by Paul Fierlinger. The film is based on a true story of a middle-aged man who took in a German shepherd named Tulip, who became, at his great surprise, the love of his life and an ideal partner ne had searched in vain for years. The jury explained their choice by saying: Very charming, and beautifully told story of an Englishman and his relationship with his dog. Great control in the styles of animation, strong narrative soundtrack, and clear editing choices, made this a seemingly simple story, disguising its complexity.

To please justice better, the jury awarded the Special Mention to the Swedish film Metropiaby Tarik Saleh, a dark sci-fi thriller about a world lacking oil. The film takes place in an enormous European underground railway system, starring Vincent Gallo, Juliette Lewis, Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgård. The jury said: Visually arresting style and technique that is ideally suited for this well written conspiracy thriller. Gloomy futuristic atmosphere is enhanced by the choice in the animation approach. And the strong voice acting contributes in making this the jury’s choice for Honorable Mention.

The winner of the Golden Zagreb Award, presented to the best film project in development, is the British-Hungarian film The Jungle by Tibor Banoczki. Based on Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle speaks of a failed American dream in the dawn of the 20th century. Among six projects of this year’s Pitching Forum, it was selected by the international jury consisting of Joan Lofts (UK), Vanja Andrijević (Croatia) and Mike Robinson (UK).

The winner of the Audience Award will be known on Monday, 6 June.

Even though the official award ceremony took place on Saturday night, the programme of the 21st Animafest is still on and rolling on Sunday, in Europa and Tuškanac cinemas. We invite you to enrich your Sunday leisure with an animated experience or two, if you missed them during working days. The Europa cinema screens Metropiaby Tarik Saleh (4pm), The Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet (6pm), the Grand Prix winner My Dog Tulip by Paul Fierlinger (8pm) and Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then by Brent Green. Tuškanac cinema will host films intended for smaller and bigger children – Eleanor’s Secret by Dominique Monféry (11am), The Simpsons Movie by David Silverman (4pm) and the serial Animated Minds by Andy Glynne (1pm). There are two chances to take a look at the works of the world-acclaimed animator Paul Driessen: a retrospective programme is scheduled for 6:15pm and 8:15pm, Tuškanac cinema.

After Zagreb, Animafest moves to Rijeka, where is it hosted by Art kino Croatia 10-12 June. Films competing for the 21st Animafest Grand Prix will be screened: Chico & Rita, a passionate love story told by Oscar-winner Fernando Trueba and the most famous Spanish designer Javier Mariscal in the rhythm of Latin American ballads, bolero and rumba; the most expensive Swedish animated film of all times, the dark futurist thriller, the winner of the 21st Animafest Special Mention, Metropia by Tarik Saleh; and the first Serbian feature-length animated film, a frenetic cyberpunk tale Technotise: Edit and I by Aleksa Gajić. There are also films for the entire family: the latest Folimage hit, the exciting thriller A Cat in Paris, the beautiful Eleanor’s Secret, the latest film by the famous Dominique Monféry and the timeless fairy tale The Ugly Ducklins by Garri Bardin, in an animated puppet version. The youngest Animafest fans can look forward to a rich programme – a selection of animated films for children, without dialogues, is made in association with Ljubljana’s Animateka festival. Free admission for children under the age of 12!