Apr 1, 2020

GLAS Animation Festival 2020: "Genius Loci" wins 25,000 awards, including theF2 FXX Award

This year's edition may have been cancelled, but GLAS Animation Festival, which was due to be held March 19–22 in Berkeley, California, has kept the torch alight by handing out its awards and over $30,000 in cash prizes and filmmaking grants. The juries made their selections after remotely viewing the programs.

Genius Loci by Adrien Merigeau (image at top) was the most high-profile winner, taking home not just the Grand Prix but also the FXX Elevation Award, which comes with a $25,000 grant to develop an original animated project for the channel FXX. The film earlier screened at the Berlinale and received a special jury mention at Clermont-Ferrand.

“Beautiful chaos,” said the competition jury of Merigeau's film. “Through an unpredictable mixture of visuals and sounds, we contemplate the night of a loner woman that seems to be guided by a mystical unity.”

For the first time, Cartoon Brew presented its Filmmaker to Watch Award, which aims to highlight a filmmaker in the early stages of their career who has created a bold and exciting piece of animated filmmaking. We picked Jonas Schloesing for Riviera, a hugely atmospheric, exquisitely paced study of an old man's confusion and isolation. Schloesing will receive a $1,000 cash prize from Cartoon Brew.

The High Risk Award was given to Swatted by Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis, a documentary about the cyber-harassment phenomenon known as “swatting.” Daria Kashcheeva's Daughter, a stop-motion student film that was nominated for an Oscar this year, received the New Talent Award.

The official competition jury consisted of Barbara Cerro, Sam Rolfes, and Paul Wenninger. The family and U.S. competition jury was made up of Sarina Nihei and Vincent Oliver. The Audience Prize is due to be awarded at a smaller fall edition of the festival, to be held in L.A.

Meanwhile, the festival's organizers have opened the application process for this year's GLAS Animation Grant, which offers two separate $2,500 grants to independent animation filmmakers working in the U.S. More information here.

Here's the full list of winners:

Grand Prix ($2,000 prize)Genius Loci by Adrien Merigeau

High Risk Award ($1,000 prize)Swatted by Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis

New Talent Award ($1,000 prize)Daughter by Daria Kashcheeva

Special MentionsEntropia by Flóra Anna BudaThe Six by Xi ChenMovements by Dahee Jeong

FXX Elevation Award ($25,000 grant)Genius Loci by Adrien Merigeau

Cartoon Brew Filmmaker to Watch Award ($1,000 prize)Riviera by Jonas Schloesing

U.S. Competition WinnerCage Match by Bryan Lee

U.S. Competition Special MentionMizuko by Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo

Family Competition WinnerFront Door by Ye-jin Lee

Family Competition Special MentionFriends Love by Miss. Diya M

Best GIF ($500 prize)High Five Business by Christopher Rutledge