The jubilee fifth cruise of the Rising of Lusitania AnimaDoc FF (16 - 19.11.2023, Szczecin, Poland) has reached the shore with 4 days of  animated documentaries from around the world.

The festival caters for animation documentaries (including mockumentaries). 54 films were selected for its 5th edition (28 countries) out of 645 submissions.

The Swiss animation film 'Armat' by Elodie Dermange, a re-telling of the Armenian heritage of its author won the Grand Prix. In the student category, 'A Taste for Music' the UK (RCA) film by Jordan Antonowicz-Behnan was the corresponding winner.

The full winnners' list:

PROFESSIONAL JURY
(Ewa Ciszewska, Joanna Kozuch, Michal Szczesniak)

GRAND PRIX LUSITANIA'S BLUE RIBAND FOR THE BEST ANIMADOC:
ARMAT (Switzerland 2022, 11:37), Director: Elodie Dermange
Jury Statement:  For an extremely colorful story in which, with each drawer opened, we once again realize how difficult it is to express our own feelings. And how important it is to talk about them.

SPECIAL JURY AWARD IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY:
LITTLE BIRDS (Mexico 2023, 16:09), Director: Gabriela Badillo

Jury Statement:  For a poignant portrait of reality as seen through the lens of children's dreams.

SPECIAL MENTION IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY:
ST. VITUS DANCE (France 2023, 12:00), Director: Bhopal
Jury Statement:  For the reliably and empathetically told dark story of the journey of a woman and her sons into the depths of the abyss of an insidious disease.

MENTION IN THE PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY:
THE PINK JACKET (Portugal 2022, 08:20), Director: Mónica Santos
Jury Statement:  For the masterful combination of musical and visual storytelling, interacting in extraordinary harmony and with the outstanding taste of haute couture.

MENTION FROM THE JUROR - EWA CISZEWSKA:
GOLDENHEADACHER (Finland 2022, 17:00), Dir.: Niina Suominen
Jury Statement:  For exploring the theme of difficult female emotions in a form that is in tune with the tearful voice of the characters.

MENTION FROM THE JUROR - JOANNA KOZUCH: 
OUR UNIFORM (Iran 2023, 06:30), Dir.: Yegane Moghaddam
Jury Statement: For the animated "patchwork of various materials" reminding how obvious and important it is for everyone to have the opportunity to experience and co-create this diversity.

MENTION FROM THE JUROR - MICHAL SZCZESNIAK:
CONSIDER THE END (Norway 2023, 28:22), Dir.: Pouria Kazemi
Jury Statement: For a unique description of life composed of portraits of death.

“RISING AWARD” FOR THE BEST STUDENT ANIMADOC:
A TASTE FOR MUSIC (United Kingdom 2022, 05:07), Director: Jordan Antonowicz-Behnan, Royal College of Art

Jury Statement: For not avoiding sharp cuts between love and hate and for showing forms of memory immersed in music.

SPECIAL JURY AWARD IN THE STUDENT CATEGORY:
118 (Israel 2023, 17:15), Directors: Avichai Bloch, Shachar Loni, Lysa-Rose Zaoui, Shany Cnaan, Tony Danilchenko, Yaara Ruth Maimon, Gilit Bigman, Batya Gur, Opal, Li Cohen, Noy Beggagon, Tal Kuperstein, Berry Akerman, Aviv Kaufmann, Kira Pinhusovich, Sapir College - School of Audio and Visual Arts
Jury Statement: For providing a new perspective through which the problem of violence against women can be seen in all its complexity.

MENTION IN THE STUDENT CATEGORY:
THE TRAIN OF MEMORIES (Taiwan 2023, 05:08), Director: Chen Chih Ming, National Taiwan University of Arts
Jury Statement: For the courage to weave a story about the search for one's own identity. For a story told by a young man to young people.

“MAKE-BELIEVE AWARD” FOR THE BEST MOCK<ANIMA>DOC:
THE SMILE (Netherlands 2022, 16:00), Director: Erik van Schaaik
Jury Statement: For the fact that this film raises unexpectedly deep philosophical questions in a grotesque form.

STUDENT JURY
(Jeremiasz Labarzewski, Zuzanna Slusarczyk, Konstancja Taraszka)

STUDENT'S BLUE RIBEND AWARD FOR THE BEST ANIMADOC
THE WAITING (Germany 2023, 15:35), Director: Voker Schlecht

Jury Statement: For entangling in interspecific enchantment, portraying the wonder of biodiversity through lines and colors, a detective investigation that considers the perspective of biomes, rivers and amphibians. For a story about the climate crisis that is not a dry statement of facts, it is a narrative that engages and develops sensitivity to human action in times of the mass extinction.

STUDENTS4STUDENTS AWARD FOR THE BEST STUDENT ANIMADOC
VICIOUS CYCLE (United States 2023, 07:25), Director: Tianyun Lyu, University of Southern California
Jury Statement: For a brave and honest presentation of the difficult relationship between a daughter and her mother and for introducing the viewer to their intimate relationship.

“MAKE-BELIEVE AWARD” FOR THE BEST MOCK<ANIMA>DOC (Animated Mockumentary)
THE HARBOURMASTER (Norway 2022, 07:17), Directors: Mia Ludvigsen Henriksen, Konrad Hjemli, Volda University College
Jury Statement: For containing, under the cover of cartoon aesthetics combined with motion picture backgrounds, the dichotomy of the film's content - memories of an authentic swan from the city port and the philosophical issue of resolving human nature. And for making us reflect on the anthropocentric view of the world around us through the anthropomorphic nature of characters.

AUDIENCE AWARD
OUR UNIFORM (Iran 2023, 06:30), Director: Yegane Moghaddam

(cover image: Armat)

The Rising of Lusitania AnimaDoc FF took place 16 - 19.11.2023 in Szczecin, Poland.