(press release)

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (25-29 September 2024), announced the animation feature 'Flow' by Gints Zilbalodis and 'La Voix des Sirènes' by Gianluigi Toccafondo as its Grand Prix winners at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony on September 28, 2024, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

This year’s DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation winner, 'In the Shallows' (dir. Arash Akhgari), showcased a unique combination of animation techniques, digging into the dangerous allure of mass media intoxication. Akhgari also receives $1000 CAD courtesy of the Directors Guild of Canada as a part of the award. Decided by Canadian animation duo Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, the Hélène Tanguay Award for Humor, was awarded to 'Samochód, który wrócił z morza (The Car That Came Back from the Sea)' (dir. Jadwiga Kowalska).

Recognized at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, the humorous and somewhat erotic stop-motion tale 'Carrotica' (dir. Daniel Sterlin-Altman), won the Wacom Public Prize. Sterlin-Altman also receives a Movink 13” OLED display drawing tablet courtesy of Wacom as a part of the award.

Showcasing vulnerability and redefining masculinity, 'Beautiful Men' (dir. Nicolas Keppens) received the award for Best Narrative Short.

 Neil Hunter (Canada), Jonathan Djob Nkondo (France/United Kingdom), Anastasiya Verlinska (Ukraine), Ivana Volda (Croatia), Dahee Jeong (South Korea), and Thomas Volda (Croatia) were jurors for this year’s Official Competition. Hunter, Jeong and T. Volda formed the Festival’s Features Jury, while the Shorts Jury was comprised of Nkondo, Verlinska, and I. Volda.

The Kids Jury included children from the Ottawa area between the ages of 8-12, who selected the winners of the Young Audiences 7+ Competition, while the Teen Audiences 13+ competition was decided by the Teen Vote @ OIAF Public Prize.

The full 2024 OIAF Awards 

Grand Prize for Short Animation
Winner: La Voix des Sirènes (dir. Gianluigi Toccafondo)
Jury Comment: This visually astonishing and timeless piece utilizes a captivating mixed media approach, with an enchanting voice guiding us through a beautifully dark and twisted fairytale. For its originality in both technique and storytelling, this year’s Grand Prize for Short Animation winner is La Voix des Sirènes by Gianluigi Toccafondo.

Grand Prize for Animated Feature
Winner: Flow (dir. Gintz Zilbalodis)
Jury Comment: Featuring impressive cinematography and a surprisingly uplifting narrative, this emotionally compelling story never felt predictable. For its immersive plot that is expressed without the use of words, refreshing animation and world-building, this year’s Grand Prize winner for Best Animated Feature is Flow by Gintz Zilbalodis.

Honourable Mention: Memoir of a Snail (dir. Adam Elliot)
Jury Comment: This beautiful and tragic film presents a range of emotions, captivating audiences with every frame. For its clever use of dark humour and its compelling story, the Honourable Mention for Best Animated Feature is Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot.

Wacom Public Prize
Winner: Carrotica (dir. Daniel Sterlin-Altman)

DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation
Winner: In the Shallows (dir. Arash Akhgari)

Comment: For its brilliant combination of animation techniques and its perceptive, poetic evocation of our troubled contemporary times 

Honourable Mention: Corridor 'Jump Cut' (dir. Winston Hacking)
Comment: For its kinetic, engaging collage of animation styles that both complement and enliven the music video for which it was commissioned

Honourable Mention: Hairy Legs (dir. Andrea Dorfman)
Comment: For its clever, amusing, and incisive coming-of-age exploration of gender identity and the body politic, hirsute, or shaved

Hélène Tanguay Award for Humor
Winner: Samochód, który wrócił z morza (The Car That Came Back from the Sea) (dir. Jadwiga Kowalska)
Comment: Passionate, funny, and deeply personal, this film skillfully transforms a less-than-ideal political and social situation into a playful and optimistic narrative set in 1980s Poland. 

Animated Short Competition - Category Prizes

Best Non-Narrative Animation
Winner: you've got a friend in me (dir. Peter Millard)

Jury Comment: In a world filled with “important messages”, there is sometimes no place for being yourself. For bringing the guilty pleasures of acting weird and expressing true emotions, the award for Best Non-Narrative Animation goes to you've got a friend in me by Peter Millard.

Best Narrative
Winner: Beautiful Men (dir. Nicolas Keppens)
Jury Comment: Through its well-structured dramaturgy and compelling character arcs, this film redefines masculinity by depicting men in their vulnerable, authentic states. 

Best Commissioned Animation
Winner: Corridor 'Jump Cut' (dir. Winston Hacking)
Jury Comment: For its playful morphing that perfectly captures the rhythm of the music, this cutting-edge composition showcases a brilliant blend of creativity and technical skill in a witty and playful way.

Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation
Winner: Martyr’s Guidebook (dir. Maks Rzontkowski)
Jury Comment: For reminding us that the more good you do, the more shit you get in return.

Best Canadian Student Animation
Winner: 91 Thousand Unrelenting Stitches (dir. Samuel Wasserman, Ontario College of Art and Design)
Comment: For its innovative fusion of traditional embroidery techniques with a mesmerizing soundtrack

Honourable Mention: Hope in the Tundra (dir. Jesu Medina, Concordia University)
Honourable Mention: Rudy Goes Sightseeing (dir. Sadie Berger, Concordia University)

Animation for Teen Audiences 13+ Competition
Winner: Girls In Real Life Situations (dir. Ofre Sparrow Vaknin)

Animation for Young Audiences 7+ Competition
Winner: Freak of Nature (dir. Alexandra Lermer)

Honourable Mention: O krávě (About a Cow) (dir. Pavla Baštanová)

Animated Series Competition
Winner: Scavengers Reign ‘The Signal’ (dirs. Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner)
Comment: For its masterful construction of a captivating world, seamlessly weaving narrative threads with a deliberate pace that allows the story to breathe and the minimalist yet surreal and richly detailed visuals to shine

Honourable Mention: Bad Bad Belgium (dirs. Jasper Declercq, Wouter Medaer and Jonas Wellens, Belgium)

Animated Short Competition - Craft Awards

Best Script
Winner: I Died in Irpin (dir. Anastasiia Falileieva)
Jury Comment: The film reflects on the traumatic events that the author had to go through again and again, to tell her story of sacrifice, persistence, and resistance. For the bravery to share this intimate recount in her own voice, the award for the Best Script goes to I Died in Irpin by Anastasiia Falileieva.

Best Design
Winner: Percebes (dirs. Alexandra Ramires and Laura Gonçalves)

Jury Comment: The choice of colours and seamless character transitions in this film not only enhances the storytelling but also evokes an emotional response, making the viewer feel connected to the traditions and stories being told. 

XPPen Craft Award Prize for Best Animation Technique
Winner: Glass House (dir. Boris Labbé)
Jury Comment: This experiment leaves the viewer curious and intrigued by the vibrating patterns and complex layers, all while creating a hypnotic geometric dance.


Best Sound Design
Winner: Once Upon A Time On Earth (dir. Phil Mulloy)
Jury Comment: This story resonates within the viewer through the sound that pushes the boundaries of the visuals and brings the feeling of disturbance and numbness simultaneously. For making the silence loud, the award for Best Sound Design goes to Once Upon A Time On Earth by Phil Mulloy.

All awards were announced at the OIAF's Awards Ceremony on 28 September 2024, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. This year's OIAF ran from 25 to 29 September 2024.