Nominees for Best Animation 2020
GELATO – SEVEN SUMMERS OF ICE CREAM LOVE
Director: Daniela Opp
Country: Germany
Duration: 12:18
Synopsis: The 20th Century was still young when Italian mountaineers conquered Germany with a sensation: gelato! Tiny stalls developed into beautiful ice cream shops. But suddenly sunny days of childhood turned into dark years of war.
The love story between Rosa and Paolo ended before the seventh summer had even started… Up until little Molly decides to take matters into her own hands almost 60 years later.
Moon Melody
Director: Cleto Acosta-McKillop
Country: United States
Duration: 06:27
Synopsis: “Moon Melody” is an animated short film about a boy suffering from culture shock, struggling to find comfort in an unfamiliar setting.
MATCHES
Director: Géza M. Tóth
Country: Hungary
Duration: 11:25
Synopsis: A lonely boy is playing with his colorful matchsticks. While he is talking about his dreams, fears and hopes, the matchsticks bring his visions to life. The film is based on an interview with the 7-year-old L. S.
The Quintet of the Sunset
Director: Jie Weng
Country: China
Duration: 07:33
Synopsis: What we expect from the relationship with the animals reveals how we want to be treated and respected. The film focuses on the evolution and changes in the human beings’ life from the first-person perspective of an animal. In “The Quintet of the Sunset”, five cats with distinguished personalities live their healthy and happy lives thanks to the care and love of their owner Gina. When Gina reaches the end of her life, they watch over Gina forever in their own way and their hearts beat as one with Gina’s heart.
SELFIES
Director: Claudius Gentinetta
Country: Switzerland
Duration: 03:40
Synopsis: In a veritable firework display of digital selfport-raits, hundreds of quaint, embarrassing and dread-fully disturbing selfies were arranged in a unique short film composition. Single photos, artistically reworked, consolidate to form a ghastly grin that outshines the abyss of human existence.
The Beauty
Director: Pascal Schelbli
Country: Germany
Duration: 04:14
Synopsis: What if plastic could be integrated into sea life? Take a deep breath and dive into a world, where feelings of guilt dissolve amongst the mysterious depths of the ocean. A world where we encounter bizarre creatures and discover eerily beautiful landscapes. Unfortunately, our air doesn’t last forever and we have to realize that nature alone can’t solve this issue.
Fire and Water
Director: Robert Brown
Country: United Kingdom
Duration: 02:00
Synopsis: Opposites attract but the path to true love is never plain sailing.
He can’t live without cosmos
Director: Konstantin Bronzit
Country: Russian Federation
Duration: 16:00
Synopsis: This story is about mother and son. It is also about love and destiny.
Urbanality
Director: Evan McInnes
Country: Australia
Duration: 03:28
Synopsis: The city folk are about to get a wake-up call. But, will they stop and listen? “Urbanality” explores the isolation of our modern environment, the resistance we have to change, and the beauty of going with the flow.
ROBOT WILL PROTECT YOU
Director: Nicola Piovesan
Country: Estonia
Duration: 10:00
Synopsis: A sci-fi animation about a little girl’s search for meaning in a world without emotions.
Rain
Director: Piotr Milczarek
Country: Poland
Duration: 05:00
Synopsis: ‘The Rain’ is a simple animated film on collective consciousness. It talks about how no accountability for our actions pushes us to thoughtlessly follow the crowd, which may lead to a tragedy. The film also depicts a struggle of an individual with collective hypnosis and its consequences for both the individual and the crowd.
The Music Box
Director: Joe Chang
Country: Canada
Duration: 11:29
Synopsis: The Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was a political campaign in China launched and led by Mao Zedong from 1966 to 1976. Nearly ten million people, including outstanding scientists, artists, intellectuals and ordinary people, died during these “Ten Years of Turnmoil” or “Ten Years of Holocaust.” This animated short film is based on a real story and sets in China during the Cultural Revolution in 1967, It is about a young boy Liang Liang, whose family is suddenly taken to the countryside by Red Guards. He is able to grab the only thing he treasures which is a western style music box, and is careful not to expose it to the red guards since it was linked to western culture. The film mirrors tragedies that befall children and families who are forced to leave their homes, due to war, colonization and political campaigns – unfortunately a situation which is all too common today.