Animac Festival Celebrates its 25 Years with a Top25 List; Awards to Joanna Quinn, Adam Elliot

Animac Festival Celebrates its 25 Years with a Top25 List; Awards to Joanna Quinn, Adam Elliot

The festival reviews the best animations of the last 25 years with the TOP LIST ANIMAC 25, A list compiled with the help of key people in the study of animation worldwide. The TOP LIST ANIMAC 25includes the 50 best animated feature films of the last 25 years, the 25 most outstanding animated short film directors, as well as the names of emerging talent, animators of the future, according to the curators, writers and scholars who have worked with Animac to create this top list.


These respected influencers who have been involved in compiling the ranking include great historians such as Jayne Pilling and Giannalberto Bendazzi; directors of festivals and cinemas of reference such as Marcel Jean (Annecy, Cinémathèque québécoise); renowned academics such as Paul Wells (Loughborough University); the next generation of writers and critics like Alex Dudok de Wit (Cartoon Brew) and Olga Bobrowska (Zippy Frames), as well as former Animac director Isabel Herguera and current director Carolina López, among others.

Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki leads the list for animation features; Theodore Ushev and Koji Yamamura share the first two places of top animation directors; and Daria Kashcheeva (Daughter) and Martina Scarpelli (Egg) occupy the two top places respectively of the top emerging talents.

What is most noticeable, firstly, is the diversity of origins, ages and gender of the curators, who have mainly valued the artistic and personal aspects of the films over any other consideration and, secondly, that they reflect the work carried out at Animac over the 25 years, as most of the directors and films listed have been present in the event in a commitment to creative and cultural diversity. It should also be noted that the most recurrent nationalities in the list of feature films are from Japan and France, countries boasting an important industry and also extensive support for culture, which becomes a major creative field. As for the directors, we note that Eastern European countries are a great pool of talent even today thanks to their great tradition in animation, but that, again and fortunately, there is a clear diversity of nationalities. And Spain, despite not topping the ranking, still occupies a place in these lists. In terms of genre, the feature film format continues to be male dominated (in terms of directors), while we find parity in more independent filmmakers, and in the Top Emerging Talent list most are women. Meanwhile, cartoons are the most valued technique, followed by stop motion and 3D -  Carolina López, Animac Festival Director

Curators contributed:

Milen Alempijević, Serbia | Margit Antauer ‘Buba’, Croatia | Giannalberto Bendazzi, Italy | Olga Bobrowska, Poland | Marco de Blois, Canada | Alex Dudok de Wit, Netherlands and United Kingdom | Adrián Encinas, Spain | Isabel Herguera, Spain and Germany | Marcel Jean, France and Canada |  Xavier Kawa-Topor, France | Vassilis Kroustallis, Greece | Carolina López, Spain | María Lorenzo, Spain | Mihaela Mihailova, United States | Aneta Orozek, Netherlands | Jayne Pilling, United Kingdom | Igor Prassel, Slovenia | Chris Robinson, Canada | Dan Torre, Australia | Samuel Viñolo, Spain | Paul Wells, United Kingdom | Léa Zagury, Brazil

ANIMAC HONORARY AWARD 2021 FOR JOANNA QUINN AND ANIMATION MASTER FOR ADAM ELLIOT


The 2021 Animac Honorary Award will go to the British director, extraordinary drawer, feminist and great humorist Joanna Quinn (Affairs of the Art) and the Animation Master Award to the Oscar-winning Adam Elliot (Mary and Max), an Australian creator of biographies modelled in plasticine and animated in stop motion. During the event, two full retrospectives of their works will be shown on Filmin and they will give a masterclass and a talk, respectively, exclusive to Animac Online, where they will explore their careers and their most recent projects, yet to be released.


Joanna Quinn (UK, 1962) is one of the most acclaimed figures in world animation. She is internationally recognised for her unique drawing skills, wonderful characterisations and humour. Quinn's films and commercials have won more than 90 awards, including four Bafta nominations, three Emmys and two Oscars. She has received honorary scholarships and doctorates from four UK universities, including the Royal College of Art in London. The new film Affairs of the Art by Joanna Quinn and Les Mill will be released in January 2021.


Adam Elliot (Australia, 1972) is one of the most critically acclaimed independent stop motion animated film directors. His films have won more than a hundred international awards, including the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2004 for Harvie Krumpet. His pieces, which he calls ‘Clayographies’, portray marginalised characters as they have never been portrayed before in animation, and have been seen by millions of people and featured in hundreds of film festivals.

ANIMAC 2021 PROGRAMME PREVIEW


Animac 2021 celebrates its 25th anniversary with a journey through the past, present and future of animation cinema, with onsite activities in Lleida from 26 to 28 February and online programming that will run from 25 February to 7 March on Filmin (movies, only in Spain) and YouTube (lectures and meetings)

In addition to the two international awards, part of the Animac programme will be closely linked to the TOP LIST ANIMAC 25, with a selection of the most outstanding feature films and shorts in the ranking. Moreover, in a virtual roundtable, the event will welcome figures such as Theodore Ushev and Regina Pessoa, as well as other filmmakers whose shorts have been valued among the best by specialists.


In addition to this great 25th anniversary celebration, as in every year, Animac will offer the latest shorts and feature films in their usual sections, most of which can be enjoyed both online and on the big screen in Lleida.

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