The Canadian stop-motion animation film 'Madeleine' by Raquel Sancinetti was the moderate surprise winner in the 2024 StopTrik Festival, which included a lot of stop-motion gems in its program.

The relationship between a younger and an older woman from two different countries and stages in their lives won the Grand Prix (in StopTrik the audience award is the festival's Grand Prix). 

The Polish film 'Toto' by Klaudia Bochniak (Lodz Film School) won the corresponding student prize, a film whose director describes "a surrealism of a dream through an unusual approach to perspective and experimentation with sounds and music".

The Full Lineup of the 2024 StopTrik Festival Awards

STOPTRIK 2024 MARIBOR AUDIENCE GRAND PRIX STOP MOTION ANIMATION
 
Madeleine by Raquel Sancinetti - Canada, 2023,  15'
Every week, Raquel (41), a Brazilian immigrant, visits her friend Madeleine (107) in her retirement home in Montreal and tries to convince her to get out of the house. The senior woman refuses: she has nothing else to do outside.

 
STOPTRIK 2024 MARIBOR AUDIENCE GRAND PRIX BORDERLANDS

Toto by Klaudia Bochniak (Film school in Lodz) - Poland, 2023, 6'10''

Toto the tiger escapes from the local circus, causing a commotion in the area. Despite being aware of his presence, a girl living in a nearby city, driven by impulse, decides to leave her home.

STOPTRIK 2024 MARIBOR STUDENTS JURY
Stop motion animation
 

Three Birds / Tri tičice by Zarja Menart (Finta Film, Adriatic Animation) - Slovenia, Croatia, 2024, 8'18'
A wise birdwoman sends three birds to guide a girl into the dark unknown landscapes of her inner world.

 
Jury Statement: We were captivated by the delicate yet deliberate storytelling approach that seamlessly blended with the tender and distinctive visual style of this animation. Through subtle visual hints, the narrative delves into the intricacies of our inner world and the healing process. We discovered that the film’s soft, comforting illustrative style and soothing sound design evoke a powerful therapeutic impact on the audience. We recognized the author’s passion for craftsmanship and commended her compelling visual language. In an era where the art and act of sharing folktales and wisdom are eclipsed by other media, we came to appreciate the conservational value of this film. We are once again enchanted by the old-world mystical and symbolic power of folktales. 

Father's Letters / Papiny pis'ma  by  Alexey Evstigneev (Moderato, Mimesis) - France, Russia, 2024, 12'10''
In 1934, Professor Vangengheim was sentenced to the Gulag on the Solovki. As he pretends to be on a grand voyage of exploration, he crafts imaginative tales in letters to his daughter Eleonora, shielding her from the truth of his sentence as a "traitor to the motherland''.

Jury Statement: The jury has faced a challenging situation regarding our next selection, so we would like to provide a short explanation before we read the statement. The film receiving our second award was created by a Russian author who is strongly integrated into the European animation scene. The film was furthermore prevailingly supported by the European funding bodies. We feel that the film carries a critical attitude toward the current oppressive regime and want to judge it on its artistic merits. The second film we’ve decided to award with the main prize has provoked a deep emotional response among the members of the student jury. It carries a strong political undertone and is critical of oppressive regimes. Despite the subject matter’s numerous depictions, we’ve found this treatment fresh and unique. The profoundly sad content could have easily fallen into the pitfall of becoming pathetic or clicéd on screen, were it not for the filmmaker’s calibrated sense of emotion and restrained visual storytelling. The seamless integration of real-world objects into an otherwise heavily stylised visual style created a sense of realness and enhanced this film’s powerful emotional impact. In a time when the topic of this film has regrettably become alarmingly relevant yet again, this film provides a much-needed glimmer of hope.

Student Jury: Borderlands
 
fur by Zhen Li (Kalifornijski inštitut za umetnost) - ZDA, 2022, 6'36''
A crush gone moldy…

Jury Statement:  In the section dedicated to celebrating experimental animated films, we selected one that took a more playful approach. It is a daunting task to blend the narrative elements with abstraction and lyricism while still keeping the audience engaged. We firmly believe our winning film achieved just that. It immerses us in its chaotic world, effortlessly transitioning from one scene to another while maintaining its overall coherence The author efficiently intertwines the narrative elements with intriguing abstraction and conveys the quirkiness of the crush gone mouldy. 

STOPTRIK 2024 MARIBOR YOUNG AUDIENCE GRAND PRIX (group age 6-8 years old)

Hoofs on Skates / Kanopos ir pačiūžos / Kopita na drsalkah by Ignas Meilūnas (Kadrų Skyrius) - Lithuania, 2024, 12'24''
In a winter wonderland two friends are having a blast ice-skating on a frozen lake when suddenly a strange and unfamiliar world cracks open underneath them. Now they must learn how to deal with this other kind without letting fear and preconceptions take over.

 
STOPTRIK 2024 MARIBOR YOUNG AUDIENCE GRAND PRIX (group age 9-11 years old)
 
Lola and the Piano Sound / Lola in zvok klavirja by  Augusto Zanovello (Komdooli Studio, Folimage, Momakin, Nadasdy Film) - France, Poland, Switzerland , 2024, 27'52''

Lola, 11, is the sister of 5-year-old Simon, who lives in a world of his own. Observing him, she notices how sensitive he is to small, hidden sounds. With her friend Rolih, they decide to build a noise machine to communicate with him.
 
STOPTRIK 2024 MARIBOR YOUNG AUDIENCE GRAND PRIX (group age 12-14 years old)
 
All Is Not Lost / Ni vse izgubljeno by Daniel Greaves, Ruth Beni (Animage Films Ltd.) - VB, 2023, 10'44''
When a cataclysmic volcanic eruption flings a jumble of debris deep into a dark underground cave, these shattered components of life, an assortment of shells, sticks, eyes, rocks and limbs, driven by the eternal instinct for survival, quickly reassemble into new living creatures. The creatures stumble through the caves in a fight for survival.

The 14th StopTrik International Film Festival took place between 25 and 29 September in Maribor, Slovenia. It will also take place between 5 and 8 December in Lodz, Poland.

(cover image: Madeleine by Raquel Sanchinetti)

Want to read more free articles like this?

Keep this professional animation journalism effort relevant and updated. Become our patron