‘Flow,’ ‘Memoir of a Snail’ Take Top Prizes at Animation Is Film Festival

Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow” — which follows a cat at the brink of the end of the world, learning to survive alongside other species — won the Grand Prize at the 7^th Animation Is Film festival that wrapped Sunday in Hollywood. Additionally, Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail” collected the  Special Jury Prize, along with the Audience Award in a tie with Naoko Yamada’s “The Colors Within.”

For the Shorts section of the festival, “Wander to Wonder” won the Grand Prize and “A Crab in The Pool” earned the Special Jury Prize. 

The feature jury said in a statement: “Without a word of dialogue, Gints Zilbalodis weaves sound, music and immersive animation to show how powerful the medium can be when coupled with the right story. ‘Flow’ seriously considers how human actions are impacting the environment, and what effect that has on animals, centering their perspective in a way that only animation can.”

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“Memoir of a Snail,” the second ‘clayography’ feature from Elliot, is a stop-motion drama that captures the life of a snail enthusiast as she undergoes immense hardships and learns to love herself despite them. Said the jury: “The distinctive personality of Adam Elliot’s stop-motion feat flows directly from its well-crafted screenplay. Wobbly lines and endearingly odd character designs work in concert with the film’s dark (but never despondent) sensibility, which embraces human imperfection and finds beauty in unlikely forms.”

In Nina Gantz’s “Wander to Wonder,” Mary, Billybud, and Fumbleton starred in children’s television program Wander to Wonder, but are left alone in the studio after the show’s originator passed away. “Bonkers in the best way possible, Nina Gantz’s profound meditation on grief won this jury over with its unique visual style and sense of hope.” said the shorts jury. 

“A Crab in The Pool,” directed by Jean-Sebastien Hamel and Alexandra Myotte, was described as “a poignant short about family and loss.” 

The feature jury included Variety’s Peter Debruge and Carolyn Giardina, journalist/critic Kambole Campbell, “Nimona” producer Karen Ryan and The Wrap’s Drew Taylor. The shorts jury included filmmaker Tom Caulfield, Nic West of the John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts, and Animation Magazine’s Ramin Zahed.

The festival was produced by GKIDS in partnership with Annecy International Animation Film Festival.