Two women get the awards of the 23rd Countryside Animafest Cyprus (9-12 August 2024). The festival had its award ceremony on Sunday, August 11 in the village of Salamiou, Paphos, after three days of screenings, concerts, workshops, and exhibitions.

This year’s edition included 33 international and 4 Cypriot films in competition, as well as 14 films in the children’s competition program (full lineup). The jury consisted of Marko Tadić (Croatia), Nadezhda Svirskaia (Germany/Russia), and Petrit Gora (Kosovo).

The Grand Prix Dimitris Eipides for a narrative film is awarded to 'Poppy Flowers', by Evridiki Papaiakovou (Cyprus/Estonia).

Remembering is a fluid affair. A daughter tries to reconcile with her mother through memories of their shared rituals, exposing the intricate aspects of their relationship. As the daughter matures, she begins to contemplate conventional notions of divinity.

Jury statement: Rich with vivid symbolism, this intricate portrait of a mother and daughter, intertwined with memories of their shared rituals, weaves a powerful and visually hypnotic narrative of self-discovery.

The Grand Prix Dimitris Eipides for a non-narrative film is awarded to 'Families' Albums', by Moïa Jobin-Paré (Canada).

Photographic images, scenes of everyday life. Connected together, a new landscape emerges.

Jury statement: The interplay of luminosity and darkness forms a blurred, dreamlike atmosphere that places the viewer in an unsettling space between memory and dream. The title itself encourages the viewer to project their own memories, establishing a universal platform for collective remembrance.

The National competition winner is the film 'Violence and Fire' by Angelos Charalambous.

Jury: A blistering and chaotic collage work that savagely critiques the vulgarities and violence of the church.

The jury also gave four special mentions:

• Will you Come with Me? Derya Durmaz (Germany)
  Exposing the stark reality behind romantic indifference.
• Stalk, Steven Subotnick (United States)
  A postponed summit leaves us with the question of sustainability
• Circle, Joung Yumi (South Korea)
  A subtle portrayal of the tricky dynamics of boundaries, borders, and habits.
• Contradiction of Emptiness, Irina Rubina (Germany)
  Exploring the enduring question of language and cultural responsibility through a deeply personal and vulnerable lens, utilizing a timeless and incisive technique.

The children’s jury awarded the first prize for the children’s film competition to the film 'Hoofs on Skates' by Ignas Meilūnas (Lithuania).

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Three audience awards were also presented. The audience award for the International competition to 'Poppy Flowers', by Evridiki Papaiakovou (Cyprus/Estonia -who also won the festival's Grand Prix), for the National Competition to the film 'The Tornado Outside' by Maria Tomazou (Cyprus) - and the Young Audience and Children’s films competition award went to the film 'Hoofs on Skates' by Ignas Meilūnas (Lithuania).

Animafest Cyprus 2024 Award Ceremony

The festival closed on Monday 12 August, with a screening of the film 'The Man Who Planted Trees' by Frédéric Back, a special programme of animated music videos presented by Petrit Gora of Anibar Festival in Kosovo and a concert by Pulsar Band. Countryside Animafest Cyprus is supported by the Deputy Ministry of Culture.

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