WOOD CHILD RECEIVES HONOURABLE MENTION @ MINIMALEN

Wood Child & Hidden Forest Mother has received an Honourable Mention at the 33rd Minimalen Short Film Festival.

 

Jury statement: 

Exceptionally surprising and darkly funny, this animated curiosity loops and warps a message of monochromatic destruction and rainbow creation into a warning about nature - our own and Earth's. In an orchestral explosion of collapse and colour, this hypnotic trip shows life and death as a queer, surreal and grotesque pattern of regeneration and degeneration that affects both land and body. The jury is compelled to honor a zany singularity that defies category and expands form.

 

Thanks to jury members Jerry Carlsson, Angie Driscoll and Jonas Brenna!

Full list of awards here

WOOD CHILD & HIDDEN FOREST MOTHER DOUBLE WIN @ LIAF

 

Wood Child & Hidden Forest Mother won two awards at the London International Animation Festival. Thanks to Nag and the team, and the jury Sophie Koko-Gate, Chris Shepherd and Max Hattler.

"The festival juries (several of the world most prestigious members of the animation community) locked horns over 10 days of screenings as they battled it out to decide which films were chosen as the Best of the Festival. For the first time in the history of LIAF a film won both the best British film and the best film of the festival. That was Stephen Irwin's Wood Child and Hidden Forest Mother."

Jury statements:

"Nature in technicolour, a savage, who is savaged by their own kin. We loved this wild unpredictable storyline full of colour and darkness. Survival, motherhood, death and beyond to alternate dimensions, parallel lives – we’ve never seen anything like it before, truly unique. Think twice before shooting a rainbow goblin in the woods."

"This film confused and delighted us in equal amounts. Propelled by a triumphant orchestral score it takes us into the depths of weirdness where birth and death meet in an endless cycle of rainbows, blood and breast-milk."

My thank you message, screened at the awards ceremony... 

 

More at Zippy Frames and Skwigly

 

WOOD CHILD AWARDED THE GRAND PRIZE @ NEW CHITOSE

Wood Child & Hidden Forest Mother won the Grand Prize at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival! Many thanks to Nobuaki Doi and Tomoko Ono, as well as the jury Naohiro Ukawa, Hiroko Tasaka and AC-Bu.

"The Grand Prix went to Wood Child & Hidden Forest Mother by Stephen Irwin (UK). The award includes a 1 million yen prize (US$9600).

The festival received 2,174 entries from 91 countries this year. From that, 100 short films and 5 features were selected. The international jury - Naohiro Ukawa, Hiroko Tasaka and AC-Bu - also presented numerous other awards, including those for new talent and Japan competition categories." 

 

WOOD CHILD AWARDED ROOFTOP FILMMAKER GRANT

BIG thanks to Rooftop Films who awarded Wood Child and Hidden Forest Mother one of their filmmaker grants.

"The Kayla Thomas Filmmaker grant, in commemoration of our dear friend and teammate, will be rewarded every year to one or more Rooftop Films alumni filmmakers to help them to complete a short or feature film that communicates the power of hope, collaboration and togetherness to make positive change. As we were creating this grant we knew we wanted to help new films get made, and particularly to support films that we thought would make Kayla happy."

Full list of awards in this Variety article. 

They gave The Obvious Child a grant a few years back, helping get the film finished and out there. Now they've done it again with Wood Child. Great bunch!

ANIM'EST AWARD

My award for Best Short Film arrived from the Anim'est Festival this week.

The jury (Amid Amidi, Christian Pfohl and Robert Morgan) said:
"A film that imaginatively re-interprets old cartoon iconography into a nightmarish and comical depiction of childhood angst."

And here's how the jury came to their decision. Amid included these notes in this Cartoon Brew article (the filmmakers don't normally get to see this stuff!):

+UPDATE+FESTIVALS+AWARDS+REVIEWS+THEOBVIOUSCHILD+

The Obvious Child is now well into its festival run. Recently it was awarded the Silver Dragon for Best Animated Film at the 54th Krakow Film Festival

Silver Dragon by Bronislaw Chromy

It also received the NTR Award for Best European Short Animation at Go Short.

The jury said:
"We loved the way this animated film takes the ingredients of dark children's' fairytales and storybooks and takes them to new perverted extremes. The maker shows great control over his medium by making unconventional but successful choices in voice-over and music to complete his stunning visual style."

Go Short Award and the film on the big screen

And at the Holland Animation Film Festival it got a Special Mention.
Jury report:
"The film has an imaginative, stunning and mysterious design for depicting a world full of cruelty and tenderness."

*****

Not everyone likes it though. Here's a review from the Annecy Animation Festival:

"Stupid" and "incredibly stupid"

And at Sundance London not everyone enjoyed the film...

Fans share their thoughts on Twitter


Swings and roundabouts lol :)