Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s film takes top honors alongside Best Short ‘The Miracle’ and Best Student Film ‘Rising Above;’ Industry Excellence Awards also announced.
Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) has announced its 2023 Industry Excellence Award winners, recognizing individuals working in scriptwriting, storyboarding, character design, and character animation. Also announced were this year’s Film Awards, including categories of Best Feature Film (for the first time), Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Commissioned Film, and special mentions.
For the first time, this year’s Short Film Award recipient is eligible for consideration in the Short Films competition of the Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.
The 2023 Industry Excellence Award Winners are:
Script Writing
- Frank Cottrell-Boyce for Kensuke’s Kingdom (Lupus Films)
Storyboarding
- Kayvon Darabi-Fard for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
Character Design
- Tom Angell for The Sound Collector (ITV)
Character Animation
- Freddie Elsom for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince’ Ivandoe (Hanna Barbera Studios Europe)
Manchester Animation Film Award Winners are:
Short Film
- Winner: The Miracle by Nienke Deutz
- Special Mention: Whatever Moves is Alive by Noémie Marsily
Feature Film
- Chicken for Linda by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach
British Animated Short Film
- All Gucci My Broski by Harry Plowden
Audience Award
- King Sausage by Mascha Halberstad
Student Film
- Rising Above by Natálie Durchánková
Short Film for Children
- Dewmini by Siqi Song
Commissioned Film
- Winner: Ashnikko: Worms by Raman Djafari
- Special Mention: The Lords of Water by Golden Wolf
Immersive Award
- From The Main Square by Pedro Harres
The festival is running online through November 30.
Source: Manchester Animation Festival
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
