VIEW Conference proudly announces the VIEW 2024 Award Winners. A 11-member international jury selected the outstanding short animated films based on story, direction, technical proficiency, sound, and uniqueness. The nine winning entries used 3D CG, stop motion, and 2D animation techniques.“We had so many wonderful entries, we couldn’t help but give more awards than usual this year,” said Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez, VIEW conference director. “And Adobe and Pixar Animation Studios, who kindly provided prizes for the award winners, agreed.”

GRAND PRIZE

Įk’ǫǫ̀ Inkwo For When The Starving Return (18 minutes)

Director Amanda Strong
Production: Spotted Fawn Productions, National Film Board of Canada
2,000 Euros VIEW Conference

JURY AWARDS (Ex Aequo)

RenderMan licenses

Have I Swallowed Your Dreams (6 minutes)

Director Clara Chan
Production: Flying Dumpling Films

Jour de Vent (7 minutes)

Directors: Martin Chailloux, Ai Kim Crespin, Elise Golfouse,Chloé Lab, Hugo Taillez, Camille Truding
École des Nouvelles Images (ENSI)

BEST STUDENT FILM AWARDS (Ex Aequo)

Adobe Creative Cloud licenses

Sortie De Route (6 minutes)

Directors: Alice Beneux, Victoria Demonin, Laura LeBaillif, Zohra LeCointre, Camille Maniffatore, Nathan Mathieu, Noemie Thiallier
École des Nouvelles Images (ENSI)

Le Charade (3 minutes)

Director Erika Totoro
Savannah College of Art and Design

Le Cantique Des Moutons (The Song of the Sheep) (8 minutes)

Directors: Jules Marcel, Anaïs Castro de Angel, Juliette Bigo, Evan Lambert, Alex le Ruyet, Jeanne Bigo, Anaïs Ledoux
Supinfocom Rubika

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS (Ex Aequo)

RenderMan licenses

Amen (7 Minutes)

Directors: Orphee Coutier, Bettina Demarty, KimiéMaingonnat, Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, Avril Zundel
École des Nouvelles Images (ENSI)

Freak of Nature (8 minutes)

Director Alexandra Lermer
Nuremberg Institute of Technology (Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm)

ITALIANMIX AWARD

Adobe Creative Cloud license

Impossible Maladies

Directors Alice Tambellini and Stefano Tambellini
SenZa TesTa Productions

“Director Amanda Strong Grand Prize Winning film, Inkwo for When the Starving Return immersed us in a mesmerizing tale of courage, identity, and the enduring power of truth,” Dr. Gutierrez says. “Our Jury Award winners brought us a personal relationship between an immigrant mother and daughter (Have I Swallowed Your Dream) and the poetic juxtaposition of many lives (Jour de Vent). The three award-winning student films showed the range of stories animation can tell.

For Sortie de Route, students used 3D tools to tell a painterly story of a woman, her dog, and a frog. Le Charade’s director crafted a lonely mime with stop motion tools, and 3D tools also helped students tell a darkly humorous story of a drunk and his sheep.

Įk’ǫǫ̀ Inkwo For When The Starving Return (18 minutes), Grand Prize winner

Director Amanda Strong used multiple animation techniques to adapt a short story by First Nation descendant Richard Van Camp. In the saga, a young, enigmatic, genderfluid warrior faced with internal struggles and external threats must forge their identity while taking a stand to defend the remaining humans and animals on Earth. Jury members called the film beautiful from all points of view, technical, story, art, and animation. They noted how difficult it was to blend different colors and backgrounds as it moved from one type of animation to a different version of the story to a backstory, and that it was done so masterfully. Jurors commented: “I love this film. The story flows. It was so immersive. Of all the films we saw, this one stayed with me. I still see scenes in my head.”

Have I Swallowed Your Dreams (6 minutes) Jury Award

Director Clara Chan tells a story of daughter looking back at the many sacrifices her immigrant mother made to give her the best life she could. But the beautiful realization of the story, and that of the daughter in the story, translates to any mother and child. “I was touched by this story,” said one juror. “It really moved me. Like many of the films we saw it is well executed, but what tilted me toward this one was the story.”

Jour de Vent (7 minutes) Jury Award

Six students at ENSI, Martin Chailloux, Ai Kim Crespin, Elise Golfouse, Chloé Lab, Hugo Taillez, and Camille Truding, wanted to tell a universal and personal story and did so representing each student’s own tale through characters in a park. Wind appears in the park. People fly away. Jurors called the film “pure poetry.” “It works at a different level,” said one juror. “It’s so quiet, so beautifully observed as natural forces shuffle the deck. It’s an absolute gem, a perfect combination of style, execution, good animation, and a simple clean line.”

Le Cantique Des Moutons (The Song of the Sheep) (8 minutes) Student Film Award

Students Jules Marcel, Anaïs Castro de Angel, Juliette Bigo, Evan Lambert, Alex le Ruyet, Jeanne Bigo, and Anaïs Ledoux at Supinfocom Rubika recently graduated from the SupinfocomRubika school (Valenciennes, France) with a Master in digital director. They set their film in the Alps, where Frank, a drunk, wakes up to find an empty cellar. Who knows why? Possibly Hervé, a talking sheep. “I loved the use of humor in this film,” said one juror. 

Le Charade (3 minutes) Student Film Award

Student Erika Totoro from the Savannah College of Art and Design created her animated film using stop-motion. Set in a 1950’s diner, the psychological comedy follows the performance of a lonely mime whose imaginary friend breaks up with him. The jury called result impressive. “It was so smooth,” said a juror of the stop-motion film. “And I loved how she played with aspect ratio.” 

Sortie De Route (6 minutes) Student Film Award

A flat tire sends a young pregnant woman and her dog into a forest and a possible new life. Created by ENSI students Alice Beneux, Victoria Demonin, Laura LeBaillif, Zohra LeCointre, Camille Maniffatore, Nathan Mathieu, and Noemie Thiallier. Jurors praised the image quality, design, and rhythm of this film.

The jury also gave two films Amen and Freak of Nature Special Achievement Awards. They singled out Amen for its humor, sound design, character design, and environments. “You could read the intention and emotion in the pigs’ eyes,” said one juror. “It was beautifully crafted. I really enjoyed it.” Six students at ENSI created Amen: Orphee  Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimié Maingonnat,Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, Avril Zundel. The second Special Achievement Award went to Freak of Nature, a stop-motion animated film by Alexandra Lermer from the Nuremberg Institute of Technology.  In this emotional film, a shy and lonely creature is too scared to leave a cage until it begins caring for a little seedling. “I really loved this tender story exploring environmental themes,” said Jury president Gutierrez.  

International Jury:

• Peter Ramsey, Oscar-winning Director 
• Setareh Samandari, CEO Interdimensional VFX
• Mike Lasker,  Oscar-nominated VFX Supe Sony Pictures Imageworks
• Laura Conçalves, Director 
• Eloi Champagne, Head, Technical Direction & Production Technology National Film Board of Canada 
• Glenn Entis, Google DeepMind
• Terry Flores, Variety 
• Kendra Ruczak, Managing Editor 
• Davide de Rosa, Screenwriter 
• Barbara Robertson, Jury Chair, Tech Journalist
• Maria Elena Gutierrez, Jury President, CEO VIEW Conference