Anibar Festival Announces Winners of Its 16th Edition!
Six winners of Anibar 16!
Anibar International Animation Festival announced the winners of its 16th edition on July 20, ending a vibrant week filled with animation, dialogue, and creative energy in the city of Peja, Kosova.
This year’s unique pieces, selected across several competitive categories, offered stories that moved, challenged, and raised essential questions about the times we live in, echoing the theme of this year’s festival edition: “WTF – What’s the Future?”.
The competitive program of this edition included the following categories:
– International
– Balkan
– Student
– “Pitch It!” Program
– Human Rights
– Animated Music Videos
– Young Audience
The International & Balkan competitions were evaluated by a jury composed of: Helga Fodorean, cultural manager and film producer, Laura Almantaitė, festival director and film producer, Marko Tadić, artist with extensive experience in drawing, installation, and animation, Tal Kantor, award-winning animation filmmaker, and Tomek Popakul, animation director known for the films Ziegenort, Acid Rain, and Zima.
The Student & Pitching competitions with a jury composed of: Bastien Dubois, French animation director, Rianne Stremmelaar, filmmaker and illustrator, and Vasco Sá, co-founder of BAP-Animation Studios.
The Human Rights & Animated Music Video competitions with a jury members: Anna Vasova, scriptwriter and producer, Draško Ivezić, animated film director, screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and co-founder of Adriatic Animation in Croatia, and Yves Nougarede, film programmer at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The Young Audience competition assessed by a jury composed of five young creators from
Kosova: Leka Gjonbalaj, self-taught artist specializing in oil painting, mural art, and character design, Rina Lasku, visual artist and animator from Gjakova, Rrezarta Sadriu, 2D animator and visual storyteller, Gent Ademaj, animator and motion designer, and Alisa Fejza, animator and multimedia artist.
– In the international competition, the first award went to “Dog Alone”, directed by Marta Reis Andrade – an emotional story exploring loneliness, abandonment, and human connection. The jury also awarded a Special Mention award in this category to “Dollhouse Elephant” by Jenny Jokela, assessing its style that attacks all of our senses.
– In the Balkan competition, the top prize was awarded to “How,” directed by Marko Mestrovic, a meditation on the mystery of existence with its cycles of progress, destruction and rebirth.
– The student competition has been won by Julia Tudisco with “Children of the Bird,” a mythological fiction about the birth and death of our planet. Two Special Mentions were given to “The Eating of an Orange” by May Kindred-Boothby and “Poppy Flowers” by Evridiki Papaiakovou.
– The professional program “Pitch It!” which provides a platform for emerging animators to present their projects, awarded first place to Flaka Kokolli with her project “I still haven’t cried,” second to Katarina Zaharijev and Marija Maletić with “The Last Bookstore in the World,” and third place to Verica Tenekedjieva with “Transporting woman.”
– In the Human Rights category, the jury gave the main award to “Romina,” directed by Bee Grandinetti – a film based on the true story of a 14-year-old girl facing an unplanned pregnancy in a US state where abortion is illegal. A Special Mention was given to “Cimarron,” directed by Rémi Vandenitte and Cédric Bourgeois.
– In the Animated Music Videos category, the first award went to “Coldplay – feelslikeimfallinginlove” directed by Raman Djafari. The video tells the story of two soulmates who travel through different worlds and forms in search of one another. A Special Mention was awarded to Chris Lambourne’s animated music video “Bob Dylan’s Big Dick.”
Winner of the Young Audience category is Vera van Wolferen with the film “Down in the Dumps,” a heartfelt story about a ladybug struggling with low self-esteem. The film gently reminds us that embracing who we truly are matters more than living up to others’ expectations.
A Special Mention was awarded to “The Legend of the Hummingbird” by Morgan Devos, conveying a powerful message that in the darkest moments, even the smallest creature can show the greatest courage.
On this occasion, Anibar thanked all participants, partners, and audiences for another remarkable edition that once again placed Peja at the center of the international animation map. With brave ideas, emotional storytelling, and thought-provoking questions about the future, this year’s edition, themed “WTF – What’s the Future?”, highlighted the transformative power of animation.
