Feb 1, 2019

Top Slam Dance 2019 Award for "Dollhouse" Special Feature in Anime

Dollhouse: The Eradication of Female Subjectivity in American Popular Culture, the only animated feature in competition at Slamdance this year, picked up the festival's top award: the grand jury prize for narrative feature.

Directed by Nicole Brending, the almost entirely self-made puppet-animation film tells the tale of once-popular child star and tween idol Junie Spoons, whose career peaks at the age of 18. Per the synopsis:

In addition to its narrative feature award, Dollhouse also won the George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award. The narrative jury, consisting of Frédéric Forestier, Shih-Ching Tsou, and Jeremiah Zagar, said of the film: “Dollhouse wasn't like any other film at the festival or any festival. It was outrageous, bold, hilarious. We're also giving it the grand prize because we think it really embodies the spirit of the Slamdance.”

Women filmmakers dominated the Slamdance animation and experimental categories this year, winning every award in those categories. The winners are:

Shalva (Tranquility) directed by Danna Windsor

Bloeistraat 11 directed by Nienke Deutz

Wayward Emulsions directed by Tina Takemoto

Applied Pressure directed by Kelly Sears

Nienke Deutz's Bloeistraat 11 also won the festival's Creativefuture Innovation Award, which is given to an emerging filmmaker who exhibits the innovative spirit of filmmaking.