Four Ukrainian works win prizes at animation film festival in France
Four Ukrainian animated films by Iryna Tsilyk, Mariia Yanko, Nataliia Velykanova and the duo Ondřej Moravec and Victoria Lopukhina have won prizes at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, which took place from 8 to 15 June.
Source: the festival website and the Ukrainian State Film Agency
Details: Iryna Tsilyk won a Ciclic Prize in the Mifa Pitches – Feature Films category for her documentary Red Zone. The award includes a €25,000 grant and a two-month animation residency in Vendôme, France. Red Zone depicts an ordinary day in wartime Kyiv.
Mariia Yanko was awarded the ARTE France Prize in the Mifa Pitches – Short Films category for her animated documentary Kateryna, which explores how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is portrayed on social media. The short is expected to be acquired by the ARTE TV channel for its programme Court-circuit (Short Circuit), which showcases auteur cinema and emerging voices in European animation.
Nataliia Velykanova's Damned, which examines the consequences of ecocide following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023, won the Weird Market Prize in the Mifa Pitches – Immersive Experiences category. The film has been invited to participate in the 17th Weird Market, to be held in Valencia, Spain, from 30 September to 5 October 2025.
Directors Ondřej Moravec and Viсtoria Lopukhina received the Cristal Award for the Best VR Work for Fragile Home, a Czech film set in Ukraine which immerses viewers in a domestic space that gradually transforms into a danger zone.
In addition, Frescoes of Memory, a short animated film by Ukrainian director Oleksandra Dzhyhanska, was presented at Black Sea Animation Shorts, a pitching session focusing on works from the Black Sea region. The film reflects on memory, personal recollections and the sense of belonging.
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is held annually in France. From 1960 to 1998, it was held every two years.
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