On September 24-26, 2021, the III RISING OF LUSITANIA International AnimaDoc Film Festival took place in the guest "docks" of the Centre for Contemporary Art LAZNIA and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, which contained: international short animated documentary competition (52 films from 31 countries), international AnimaDoc Conference online (with speakers from China, Poland, Portugal, UK and USA), a special program of RISING OF THE PANDEMIC ANIMATIONS, and the Polish premiere of a full-length animated documentary from Indonesia - KOSONG (2020), directed by Chonie Prysilia and Hizkia Subiyantoro.
The films were judged by a Jury composed of Pawel Sitkiewicz (Film and media historian. Professor at the University of Gdansk), Robert Turlo (Director of animation films, artist, scriptwriter and animator. Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk: specialization – animation), Paulina Wyrt (Illustrator and animator, working at the University of Arts in Poznań). Simultaneously there worked a Student Jury (Wiktoria Łukaszewicz, Kinga Pałczyńska, Marcin Romanik) and Audience, which awarded their own prizes.
THE MAIN JURY HAS AWARDED THE FOLLOWING PRIZES:
> “Lusitania Grand Prix Award” for the Best AnimaDoc:
Mild Madness, Lasting Lunacy (France 2020, 18:16), Director: Marine Laclotte
Statement: For sophisticated graphics, animation, composition and sound, thanks to which the film shows more (deeper and wider) than with the help of traditional documentary techniques.
> Special Jury Award in the Professional Category:
Just A Guy (Germany 2020, 14:58), Director: Shoko Hara
Statement: An extremely uncompromising and emotionally rich film. It reflects the human desire for closeness even to the most brutal circumstances.
> “Rising Award” for the Best Student AnimaDoc:
Mom’s Hair (Russian Federation 2021, 08:00), Director: Alexey Evstigneev
Statement: A family story, lovingly showing the burden of maternal care.
> Special Jury Award in the Student Category:
Girls Talk About Football (Italy 2021, 07:22), Director: Paola Sorrentino
Statement: Prize for a witty and visually engaging story about the serious problems of gender inequality and the non-obvious dimensions of the female experience.
> “Make-Believe Award” for the Best AnimaMockumentary:
Wampui (Germany 2020, 17:32), Director: Maarten Isaäk de Heer
Statement: For the impressionistic, blurry nature of all the film's constituent layers, which surprisingly sharpen and strengthen its message.
> Special Mention for Arts/Culture Topic:
Beyond Noh (USA/Japan 2020, 03:55), Director: Patrick Smith
> Special Mention for Migration/Refugees Topic:
En Rang Par Deux, Meeting Aliou And Afif (Italy 2020, 06:51), Directors: Elisabetta Bosco, Margherita Giusti, Viola Mancini
> Special Mention for Human Rights:
In Nature (Switzerland 2021. 05:16), Director: Marcel Barelli
> Special Mention for Current Event:
Maalbeek (France 2020, 16:03), Director: Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis
> Special Mention for Children’s Rights:
The Chimney Swift (Germany 2020, 05:00), Director: Frédéric Schuld
> Special Mention for an interesting form:
The Musical Ear (Belgium 2020, 03:11), Director: Margot Reumont
THE STUDENT JURY HAS AWARDED THE FOLLOWING PRIZES:
> “Lusitania Student Award” for the Best AnimaDoc:
Mild Madness, Lasting Lunacy (France 2020, 18:16), Director: Marine Laclotte
Statement: Entering with a camera into the world of excluded people, who after dropping the veil of stigma and prejudice, turns out to be something more, not only being defined by their illness. For drawing attention to the loneliness of the characters, who despite their illnesses also need unconditional affection from another person. For it turns out, that joy can be found in the least expected places and in even more unexpected moments.
> “Students4student Award” for the Best Student AnimaDoc:
Mom’s Hair (Russian Federation 2021, 08:00), Director: Alexey Evstigneev
Statement: Motherly love can take many forms. A storm of golden hair evokes the all-embracing warmth with which the mother tries to wrap her child while protecting it from the world. The empty nest syndrome depicted here is extremely poetic, and the delicate, flat drawings stunningly combined with the real wig used in the animation, add to its spaciousness.
> “Make-Believe Award” for the Best AnimaMockumentary:
Strange Occurrences: Bukit Bulabu (Singapore 2020, 06:19), Directors: Wong Shi Teng, Yeo Jia Min Gloria, Hana Lee
Statement: Is it still possible today to find suspense and surprise in the already heavily exploited genre of paranormal documentaries? It turns out, it is! The creators of Bukit Bulabu prove that with some interviews presenting family drama and reconstructions of events that affected the protagonists, they are able to convey the grotesque nature and artificially exaggerated moments of this genre of reality shows. The icing on the cake is certainly the highly polished stop-motion animation, and the plasticine puppets perfectly resonate with this absurd vibe.
> Audience Award: Ashes (Poland 2020, 07:49), Director: Joanna Dudek
> The Festival Director's Distinction: Who (Afghanistan 2020, 08:44), Director: Khadije Zafary
