World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb 2025 ended tonight with the award ceremony at the SC Cinema. The Grand Competition Short Film Jury, consisting of Osman Cerfon, Špela Čadež, Erwin Gomez, Sarina Nihei and Ivana Volda, decided to award the Grand Prix to the German film Dull Spots of Greenish Colours, directed by Sasha Svirsky, produced by Wait a Second! GbR. The jury’s explanation reads: This film powerfully reflects on how media influence both our society and individual minds. Through a skilful blend of techniques, it delivers a profound message in a way that feels both philosophical and organic. It invites us to question our relationship with the media — not only on a societal level, but also in terms of our personal and even physical experience of the world.

The same jury presented the Golden Zagreb Award for Creativity and Innovative Artistic Achievement to Anu-Laura Tuttelberg for the Estonian-Lithuanian film On Weary Wings Go By (Linnud gėtėn) produced by Fork Film, Art Shot and Moon Birds Studios, a mesmerising work that captures the raw and poetic beauty of nature. Through stunning time-lapses, we witness a landscape in constant transformation. Puppet animation is fluent and delicate, echoing the fragility of porcelain figures caught under the rule of a merciless natural world.

The Zlatko Grgić Award for Best First Film Made Outside an Educational Institution went to the Montenegrin film Uroš by Mato Uljarević (Dok produkcija, Protos film d.o.o), a finely drawn charcoal animation, a man battles a dark presence while his life transforms through the shifting images of his own creation.

The jury members also decided to award special awards. Osman Cerfon awarded the Japanese film A Night at the Rest Area (パーキングエイアチヤ) by Saki Muramoto (Studio Tampopo), a simple but daring film that stages with subtlety and tenderness a social clumsiness that everyone has once felt in such situation.

Špela Čadež was particularly impressed by the American film Deluge by Meejin Hong (independent production), a seamless, hypnotic loop of evolving ink drawings unfolds in 24 frames.

Erwin Gomez presented his special award to the French film Scars We Love (Les belles cicatrices) by Raphaël Jouzeau (Balade Sauvage Productions), for outstanding aesthetics that awaken sensations on your skin,a love story that comes to an end – and yet makes you feel part of it.

Sarina Nihei, on the other hand, chose Dog Alone (Cão Sozinho), a Portuguese-French film by Marta Reis Andrade (BAP – Animation Studios, Ikki Films). Every shot in this film is visually striking, featuring a carefully curated, limited colour palette. I was captivated by the seamless animation transitions and the touching story of a girl’s deep love for her grandfather – said Nihei.

Finally, Ivana Volda gave her special award to the Croatian film How (Kako) by Marko Meštrović, produced by Kreativni sindikat. Through dynamic repetition and the continuous flow of hypnotic drawings, the film shapes a surreal yet rounded perception of the world – wrote Volda.

According to the decision of the Grand Competition Feature Film jury consisting of Miljana Dragičević, Carolina López Caballero and Martin Vandas, the Grand Prix goes to the Australian film Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot (produced by Arena Media and Screen Australia), a film full of empathy and kindness, but also with an insight into difficult life situations, loneliness and cohesion. It has an extraordinary script combining bitter and sweet, humour and sadness. Life in every piece of stop motion animation – says the explanation.

The same jury also decided to award a special mention to the British-Polish-German film Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass by the Quay brothers (productions: Koninck Studios, IKH Pictures Production, The Match Factory GmbH, Adam Mickiewicz Institute) for transforming the spirit of Bruno Schulz into a dreamlike universe where time, memory and matter dissolve into pure cinematic poetry.

The combined jury of the Student Film Competition and the Croatian Film Competition, consisting of Michał Bobrowski, Waltraud Grausgruber and Jin Woo, decided to award the Dušan Vukotić Award for Best Student Film to the Dutch film Mother’s Child by Naomi Noir, made at the Utrecht School of the Arts. This film captivates us with its innovative visual style and realistic voice acting, emotional depth and narrative strength. Delicately drawn lines beautifully capture the fragility, the unconditional love and the bond between the characters. Surreal 3D sequences immerse us in the protagonist’s mental world as she experiences extreme exhaustion. This work takes us to a powerful emotional journey and raises awareness of caregivers’ realities in a highly artistic, activist way – explained the jury.

According to the same jury, the first special mention went to the Estonian Poppy Flowers by Evridiki Papaiakovou from the Estonian Academy of Arts, a film that poses profound questions about the consequences of religious upbringing, by means of remarkable visuals achieved through one of animation’s most demanding techniques.

The second special mention went to the Chinese film Sh (嘘) by Qi Duan from the Chinese Academy of Arts. The film weaves together images of the frustration and uncontrollable stomach-turning irritation, anger and helplessness that individuals feel when they are shoved into a politically programmed box, eventually leaving them wanting to feel nothing – the explanation says.

The best film of the Croatian Film Competition is Psychonauts by Niko Radas, produced by the Vrapče Psychiatric Clinic, the Croatian Association of Digital Artists and the Zagreb Film Institution. Anonymous voices along with the precise choreography of camera movement are letting us into spaces of intimacy. This film shows us mental disorders moulded like porcelain into the shape of ourselves – said the jury. The film also receives a financial award of 1,000 euros, awarded by the Croatian Film Authors’ and Producers’ Association. With this triumph, Psychonauts also earned qualification for the Oscar.

A special mention was given to Vuk Jevremović for Moral Support (Moralna zaslomba) from the independent production Canvas for the dialectics of rhythm and disarray: fluid yet structured, fierce yet compassionate, rooted in the revolutionary avantgarde of 1920s yet fresh and topical.

A special mention for the best Croatian minority co-production went to Jelena Milunović’s Floating, a Serbian-Croatian-German film (Set Sail Films, Adriatic Animation, Babelsberg Film University Konrad Wolf) that with deep sensitivity shows how a daughter gently brings her father – literally – back down to earth. A visually poetic story that translates individual experience into a reflection about love, responsibility and resilience – concluded the jury.

The winner of the Films for Children and Youth Competition was chosen by the children’s jury, which awarded the main prize to the American film Snow Bear by Aaron Blaise, produced by The Art of Aaron Blaise, a film that conveyed the most important message in today’s world. It is very emotional and it tells us we are allowed to cry if we lose something we love. The film has messages on many levels. The other important message is to take care of the community, of each other and of nature. Nature is melting because of the climate changes we are responsible for, which is putting the animal world in danger. Also, loneliness is a big issue today. Hang out and help each other. This film took eight years to make and this really shows the dedication of the author of this magnificent film. It is beautifully drawn and shows true feelings. There is a contrast between the drawn characters and the realistic backgrounds. The music and effects are well blended in and contribute to the emotional atmosphere – explained the jury.

Special mention in the Films for Children Competition went to the Belgian film Bobel’s Kitchen by Fiona Rolland (Atelier de Production de La Cambre), a film with two messages: Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, don’t move forward! The second message is: Whatever you’re like, taller, fatter, smaller, it doesn’t matter. What matters is to trust yourself and to believe someone one day will trust you and become your friend no matter what you’re like. This film also took a lot of effort to make, a whole year – the jury explained.

The special recognition in the Films for Youth Competition was decided by the audience, mainly students of Zagreb high schools who voted for the French film S The Wolf by Sameh Alaae (Salt for Sugar Films).

The Mr. M Award for the best short film according to the audience's vote goes to Jan Saska for the Czech-French-Slovak-Bosnian-Herzegovinian film Hurikán (Last Films, Maur Film, Laïdak films, Artichoke, Aeon Production).

The Mr. M Award for the best feature film according to the audience's votes goes to Kristina Dufkova, director of the Czech-Slovak-French film Living Large (produced by Barletta, Novinski and Novanima).

The 36th World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb 2026 will be held from 8 to 13 June 2026.