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‘Klaus’ Named Best Animated Feature at Third Annual Quirino Awards

‘Tainá and the Amazon's Guardians’ wins best animated series; ‘The Cubicbird’ wins best animated short film at the virtual ceremony closing out the online Ibero-American Animation ‘Quirino month.’

Nine animated works, from a pool of 217 submissions from 17 countries, were recognized for their excellence at the third edition of the Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards, in a virtual ceremony held this past Saturday to close out the “Quirino Month.” The Quirino Awards were originally planned for April 18th in Tenerife, but the event was forced to move online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sergio Pablos’ animated feature film Klaus, won the award for best animated feature film as well as the award for best animation design. Produced by Madrid-based The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine for Netflix, the film is an animated holiday comedy about a self-centered child of privilege, the worst student at the postal academy, who after being banished to the frozen north, finds redemption in the kind works of an old toymaker. The Annie and BAFTA Award-winning film was also nominated for a best picture Oscar.

The Brazilian series Tainá and the Amazon's Guardians won the award for best animated series. The co-production between Hype Animation and Sincrocine Produções was directed by André Forni. Aimed at preschool audiences, this series combines 3D and 2D animation; its main character is Tainá, an orphan girl from the Amazon jungle who, in the company of her animal friends, protects wildlife and the rich biodiversity of her habitat. The series is an adaptation of a successful live-action trilogy and has been released internationally on the Nickelodeon channel and the Netflix platform.

The Colombian short film, The Cubicbird, won the award for best animated short film.  Directed by Jorge Alberto Vega and produced by La Valiente Estudio and Cintadhesiva Comunicaciones with the associated production of Animaedro, the stop-motion film is an adaptation of the self-titled book by Marcos Mas about Pedro, a bird that lives in a cage and is willing to break its bonds to be free. The work was selected at various international festivals and received the award for Best Colombian Animated Short Film at Bogoshorts 2019.

Six other works from Argentina, Spain and Portugal were recognized as best school short film, commissioned film, animation for video game, visual development, animation design and sound design and original music.

The international jury was made up of, from Colombia, Alfredo Marun (Development Director at Disney Television Animation); from Poland, Anja Franczak (Creative Producer at Human Ark); From San Salvador, Simon Vladimir Varela (Production Designer and Visual Development Artist for various studios, including Pixar, Disney, Warner Bros, Sony Animation, Fox and Universal); from the U.S., Vera Verba (Manager of the YouTube Channel of Sesame Workshop) and from France, Véronique Encrenaz (Director of MIFA Annecy).

The Quirino Awards’s main sponsor is the Cabildo de Tenerife through the Tenerife Film Commission. The initiative also has the sponsorship of ICEX Spain Export and Investments, PROEXCA, City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands Film and y HP; the collaboration of ICAA, CAACI, Ibermedia Program, Acción Cultural Española through PICE, Auditorium of Tenerife, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA), University of La Laguna, RTVE, Cultura Inquieta, Filmin,  Retina Latina, Tangram Solutions, WELAW, Embassy of Portugal and Casa de América; and the support of DIBOOS, SAVE, Pixelatl, Ventana Sur Animation!, Weird, La Liga de la Animación Iberoamericana (the Ibero-American Animation League), Koch, Tenerife Moda, Clúster Audiovisual of Canarias, Annecy Festival and European Animation Emile Awards, as well as the associations: APA - Association of Animation Producers of Cordoba Argentina; ANIMAR CLUSTER - Argentine Animation Cluster & VFX; ABCA - Associação Brasileira de Cinema de Animação; Animachi Chile; GEMA Colombia - Animation Entrepreneurs Group; Guild of Animators of Ecuador; ACDMX - Association of Digital Creatives of Mexico; Peru Animation and Casa da Animaçao of Portugal, Paraguay Animation and Bolivian animators network.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

  • Best Feature Film: Klaus, directed by Sergio Pablos, produced by The SPA Studios, Atresmedia Cine (Spain).
  • Best Series: Tainá and the Amazon's Guardians directed by André Forni, produced by Hype, Sincrocine (Brazil)
  • Best Short Film: The Cubicbird, directed by Jorge Alberto Vega, produced by La Valiente Estudio, Cintadhesiva, Animaedro (Colombia).
  • Best School Short Film: Nestor, directed by João Gonzalez, produced by Royal College of Art (Portugal, United Kingdom).
  • Best Commissioned Film: Mate?, directed by Buda.tv, produced by Buda.tv (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay).
  • Best Animation for Video Game: Gris, directed by Conrad Roset, produced by Nomada Studio (Spain).
  • Best Visual Development: The Peculiar Crime of Oddball Mr. Jay, directed by Bruno Caetano, produced by Cola - Colectivo Audiovisual, Wild Stream (Portugal, France).
  • Best Animation Design: Klaus, directed by Sergio Pablos, produced by The SPA Studios, Atresmedia Cine (Spain).
  • Best Sound Design and Original Music: Nestor, directed by João Gonzalez, produced by Royal College of Art (Portugal, United Kingdom).

More information about the winning films can be found here.

Source: The Quirino Awards