On March 9, 2000, the winners of the British Animation Awards were announced to a packed audience at London's National Film Theatre. The big winner was ROBBIE THE REINDEER: HOOVES OF FIRE directed by Richard Goleszowski, which took home three awards. The half-hour TV special tells the story of the trainee reindeer, Robbie (son of Rudolph), and his bulbous nose. The film was a BBC Animation Unit/BBC Worldwide production in association with Comic Relief. Oscar short-listed films HUMDRUM and SILENCE both picked up awards. Below is a full list of winners in each category.
Best Short Film under 7 minutes (sponsored by Cartoon Network) THE MAN WITH THE BEAUTIFUL EYES; directed Jonathan Hodgson; and produced by Sherbet for Channel 4.
Best Short Film over 7 minutes (sponsored by Picasso Pictures) SILENCE; directed by Orly Yadin & Sylvie Bringas; and produced by Halo Productions for Channel 4.
Best Film at the Cutting Edge (sponsored by Passion Pictures) THE WOLFMAN; directed and produced by Tim Hope of Cloth Films.
Mari Kuttna Award for Best Student Film (sponsored by Bravo) RIEN; directed and produced by Kunyi Chen at Kingston University.
Best Direction of an Animated Commercial Natwest's "Escape;" produced by Vehicle and Nexus Animation for TBWA.
Animation/Craft in a Commercial Award (sponsored by HIT! Entertainment) Orange's "Megalomaniac;" directed by Philip Hunt of aka Pizazz for WCRS.
Best Adult Series (sponsored by Sky One) THE BIG KNIGHTS; directed by Neville Astley & Mark Baker; and produced by BBC Worldwide/The Big Knights Ltd. in association with BBC Bristol.
Best TV Special (sponsored by Cosgrove Hall) ROBBIE THE REINDEER: HOOVES OF FIRE; directed by Richard Goleszowski; and produced by Animation Unit BBC Bristol for BBC Worldwide in association with Comic Relief.
Best Children's Series (sponsored by Brierville Ltd) FOX BUSTERS: A FETE WORSE THAN DEATH; directed by Jon Doyle; and produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for ITV.
Best Pre-School Series (sponsored by BBC Worldwide) MAISY: "TRAIN;" directed by Leo Nielsen; and produced by King Rollo Productions for Universal Pictures Visual Programming.
Best Scenario (sponsored by Eva/Pearson) ROBBIE THE REINDEER: HOOVES OF FIRE; directed by Richard Goleszowski; and produced by Animation Unit BBC Bristol for BBC Worldwide in association with Comic Relief.
Craft Award (sponsored by Tandem Films) THE WIFE OF BATH'S TALE (part of the CANTERBURY TALES); directed by Joanna Quinn; and produced by S4C.
Most Creative Use of New Technologies (sponsored by John Cary Studios) THE BIG KNIGHTS; directed by Neville Astley & Mark Baker; and produced by BBC Worldwide/The Big Knights Ltd. in association with BBC Bristol.
Children's Choice (sponsored by M2TV) ROBBIE THE REINDER: HOOVES OF FIRE; directed by Richard Goleszowski; and produced by Animation Unit BBC Bristol for BBC Worldwide in association with Comic Relief.
Public Choice: Favourite Ad (sponsored by Channel 4 and supported by Time Out) Nestea Cool's "Closed;" directed by Dave Borthwick; and produced by bolexbrothers for Fallon McElligott.
Public Choice: Favourite Film (sponsored by Channel 4 and supported by Time Out) HUMDRUM; directed by Peter Peake; and produced by Aardman Animations for Channel 4.
Public Choice: New Perspectives (sponsored by Channel 4 and supported by Time Out) THE WOLFMAN; directed and produced by Tim Hope of Cloth Films.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
