“Little Amelie or Rain Characters” won the Grand Jury Prize at the 8th Animation is Film Festival.
The Feature Jury said, “Showing us the world from a young child’s perspective, Little Amelie, or the Rain Character, is a moving revelation about the wonders and pains of being alive.While finding the whimsy in the everyday through its dazzling style, the film also grapples with the complexities of two cultures that collide, connect, and at the same time form the early identities of its young protagonists.”
“Decorado” won the Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Award. On the festival’s opening night, AIF Director Matt Kazanek announced the award’s name change in memory of beloved publicist Fumi Kitahara, who passed away in February.
“Fumi dedicated her professional career to advocating for animators and was one of the earliest and most vocal supporters of Animation Is Film and its mission. While we are deeply saddened to not have her at AIF this year, we take comfort in knowing that we will be spending the weekend doing what she would have wanted us to do: come together as a community to celebrate great animation,” Kazanek said. The jury praised Decorado and said, “Set in a dystopian reality where authoritarian forces control every aspect of an individual’s life, Decorado deftly explores how we adapt and resist accepted normality. “The film unflinchingly tackles mature sociopolitical themes, but it does so through satirical humor and fantastical characters, including the main couple Arnold and Maria, making it a completely unexpected film.” experience. ”
“Arco,” directed by Hugo Bienvenu, won the Audience Award. Weaving together themes of friendship, collective memory, and the forces of a changing planet, this imaginative, original, and tender time-travel adventure resonated with AIF audiences.
The Grand Jury Prize for Short Film went to Cynthia Calvi’s “Gigi”, with the jury calling it “a very intimate conversational chronicle of the title character’s gender transition.”
Giovanna Ferrari’s “Eil” won the Special Jury Prize in the short story category. The judges said, “With a visually stunning use of light and color, this thrilling adventure set in ancient Ireland unfolds as a story of mortal courage and divine counsel, enhanced by breathtaking technical direction.”
“Animation is Film would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the filmmakers who participated in this latest edition,” Kazanek said in a statement. “The 2025 Festival had record-breaking attendance. This doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and we thank the filmmakers, audiences, festival sponsors, and community partners for celebrating the art of animation.”
The 2025 feature competition lineup included All You Need Is Kill, Arco, Ciao, Decorado, I Am Frankelda, Lesbian Space Princess, Little Amelie, or the Rain Character, Nobody, Scarlet, and Fire Story.
