A Town Called Panic, Under Your Fingers Grab NYICFF Awards

 New York International Children's Film Festival was founded in 1997 to support the creation and dissemination of thoughtful, provocative, and intelligent film for children and teens ages 3-18. After presenting four weekends of international films for ages 3-18, New York International Children's Film Festival concluded its 19th edition at its annual Closing Night Celebration last night at the SVA Theatre. 

 A Town Called Panic: Return to School (France/Belgium), directed by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier, was awarded the Grand Prize for a short film. The film, which played in the Festival's "Short Films Two" program, also took home the Audience Award for ages 12-17.

Patar and Aubier have made the western spaghetti animation famous with their A Town Called Panic (Panique au villlage) stop-motion creations, which even made it into a feature film - screened at the 2009 Cannes festival.

a-town-called-panic-return-to-school2

The new, 26-minute short by Patar and Aubier (also at Annecy's official competition) has Cowboy and Indian ready to take off on an extravagant luxury cruise, but there's just one catch: they totally forgot that today's the first day of school.

 The Jury Award for Best Animated Short was presented to both Under Your Fingers (Sous tes doigts) by Marie-Christine Courtès from the Festival's "Short Films Three" program and My Grandfather Was a Cherry Tree by Olga & Tatiana Poliektova, which screened as a part of the Festival's "Shorts for Tots" program.

Under Your Fingers (Sous tes doigts) is 2D animated story of coming to terms with traumatic events, inspired by the Indochina events of 1956.

sous-Tes-Doigts

Under Your Fingers

My Grandfather Was a Cherry Tree by Olga & Tatiana Poliektova is a hand-drawn, digitally colored 2D short, having a young boy narrating his unusual grandfather's thoughts on life and death.

Audience awards, presented to short films, were determined by the votes of audience members of four different age ranges.

A complete list of recipients:

  • Audience Award, ages 3-5: Octopus (Germany), Animation, Julia Ocker; US Premiere, "Shorts for Tots"
  • Audience Award, ages 6-11: The Visitors (Australia), Animation, Philip Watts, "Shorts for Tots"
  • Audience Award, ages 12-17: A Town Called Panic: Return To School (France/Belgium), Animation, Vincent Patar & Stéphane Aubier; World Premiere, "Short Films Two"
  • Grown-Ups Award (audience members ages 18+): One, Two, Tree (France), Animation, Yulia Aronova: East Coast Premiere, "Shorts for Tots"

New York International Children's Film Festival ran from February 26 through March 20, 2016.

 

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