PÖFF Shorts, the international short film and animation festival within Tallinn Black Nights announced the winners of its 2024 edition (8-20 November 2024). 

'Reborn with You' by Inju Park, the South Korean film that premiered this year at Animafest Zagreb, won the Best Short Film Prize in the International Animation Competition category.

The director talked to Zippy Frames about their painterly animation short

The day I learned about the hijab protests in Iran on TV news, I immediately thought of the incident of a woman's murder in Gangnam, South Korea, and the subsequent protests by women in my own country, which also led to a feminist movement involving cutting hair - Inju Park.

Alice Saey with her environmentally-inspired film 'Flatastic' won the festival's special mention. In the Children's Animation section, the French 'Yuck!' by Loïc Espuche, a funny film about the first kiss, was the big winner; the Lithuanian Ignas Meilūnas (Matilda and her Spare Head) won the festival's special mention with his new film 'Hoofs on Skates'.

Two queer films won the prizes in the New Talents Animation competition. Daniel Sterlin-Altman's two-way situation (mother and son), Jewish queer comedy of 'Carrotica' was the big winner. A special mention was given to the Chilean animation doc by Gael Jara and Martín André, 'Chimera', about a non-binary person and their Kafkaesque journey to get Chile's first non-binary ID card.

In the festival's National Competition, the suggestive Estonian puppet thriller 'The Little Other' by Andres Tenusaar (Nukufilm) won the Special Mention.

The winners of the Shorts Live-Action, Animation, and National Competitions will all be eligible for qualifying for an Academy Award should they fulfill the Academy's requirements.

PÖFF SHORTS ANIMATION COMPETITION: The full list
Jury: Annegret Richter, Martina Meštrović, Roland Seer

BEST SHORT FILM
1000€ presented by: PÖFF
"Reborn With You" (Republic of Korea, 2023), Director: Inju Park

Jury Statement: "The film follows the fragile relationship of one sister to another in a very poetic flow of silky and soothing images. It offers us a window into a complex metaphysical world of grief, denial, acceptance and rebirth from a feminine point of view. The vibrant colours and the lush animation, overflowing with beautiful images, take you on an abstract emotional journey. You feel the sisterhood throughout several generations."

JURY MENTION
"Flatastic" (France, Netherlands, 2023), Director: Alice Saey

Jury Statement: "The film takes you into a graphic allegory of our modern world and then gradually changes into a story about the fragility of our human made society bubble. It sucks you in, washes you out and leaves you hanging and contemplating about us as humans and our distorted relationship with nature."

BEST CHILDREN'S FILM
"Yuck!" (France, 2023), Director: Loïc Espuche

Jury Statement: "Wouldn’t it be great if you could actually see love and affection in a person? Maybe it would make things easier, maybe our world would be more loving. But you need to be brave for love. The film takes us to an atmosphere of a childhood summer that becomes the summer of the first innocent kiss. This story is heartwarming and funny at the same time – and it is entertaining, for kids and for adults. It is universal in all the best ways. Love is in the air - you just have to see it."

JURY MENTION
"Hoofs on Skates" (Lithuania, 2024), Director: Ignas Meilūnas

Jury Statement: "The jury gives a special mention to a film that caught our interest already in the first scenes. It is entertaining and hilariously funny, still focussing on a story of overcoming your fears and finding friends in the most unlikely places. The talent in puppet stop motion is fantastic, skilful subtle changes deliver big emotions. We also want to acknowledge the great talent in storytelling, in camera setting and in the perfect timing of jokes that made us and everyone in the audience laugh, even without using any language."

BEST FILM (NEW TALENTS ANIMATION)
Presented by: Estonian Academy of Arts
"Carrotica" (Germany, 2024), Director: Daniel Sterlin-Altman

Jury Statement: "The film won our hearts with a warm coming-of-age story with erotic elements. It skilfully combines the perspective of a son and his mother in moments of secret desire and insecurity while it celebrates emotions in a very humorous way. Scenes from every day life go together with surrealistic aspects in which carrots become objects of desire. We loved the clever usage of technique and design while staying fresh and surprising."

JURY MENTION (NEW TALENTS)
"Chimera" (Chile, 2024), Directors: Gael Jara, Martín André

Jury Statement: "Our special mention goes to a film with a strong story about fluidity and transformation in a rigid and mean world. We acknowledge the Kafkaesque body horror with a great sense of artistic style that brilliantly enhances the story. The film that mixes documentary elements with animation touches on a subject that is not openly talked about, especially not in the country it was made in. We appreciate the braveness and the creativity in making this movie."

PÖFF SHORTS NATIONAL COMPETITION
Jury: Kitty Florentine, Michał Bobrowski, Laima Graždanoviča

JURY MENTION
"Little Other" (Estonia, 2024), Director: Andres Tenusaar

Jury Statement: "With abstract forms, twisted symbols and syncopated dynamics we are taken through a well choreographed dive into the horrors of giving birth."

PÖFF Shorts Winners & Jury 2024

The PÖFF Shorts' European Film Academy candidate for Nomination for European Film Award Best Short Film - Prix Vimeo and the Rebels With A Cause winner will be announced on Saturday, November 23 at the Black Nights Film Festival closing ceremony.

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