May 31, 2021

Among the winners at the 2021 Quirino Awards "Nicholas's Costume", "Petit", "Homeless House"

The winners of the fourth Quirino Awards, which honor animation from Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, were announced this weekend, at an in-person gala on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

A Costume for Nicholas, the directorial debut of animator Eduardo Rivero, was named best film. Like many winners this year, it is a work of 2d animation. The feature follows the fantastical adventures of Nicholas, a child with Down syndrome (whose voice actor Fran Fernández also has Down syndrome). The studio behind it, Mexico's Fotosíntesis, makes films with an emphasis on underrepresented social themes - its last film, The Angel in the Clock, tackled childhood cancer.

The award for best series went to the second season of Petit, whose first season was nominated two years ago. Directed by the Chilean Bernardita Ojeda, the preschool series stars an imaginative five-year-old boy who comes up with unusual solutions to problems. It has already won numerous awards and been nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award.

Homeless Home, the macabre Annecy-winning short from Alberto Vázquez, won best short film; Uniko, the Bilbao-based studio behind the film, also took home the award for best sound and original music design for Loop. Another notable winner was Manuel Lopez's Memories for Sale (best school short), which was the first work from Costa Rica ever to be nominated at the Quirinos.

The winners were chosen from 24 finalists, which were selected in turn from among 265 submitted works.

Spain, which submitted more projects - and picked up more nominations - than any other country, notched up the most wins: four. Argentina was the only other Ibero-American country with multiple wins (three). The most-nominated project, the Spanish sci-fi short Wayback, went home empty-handed, missing out on the three awards for which it was in the running.

Here are the winners in full:

Un disfraz para Nicolás (A Costume for Nicholas), directed by Eduardo Rivero; produced by Fotosíntesis Media, co-produced with Péek Paax (Mexico)

Petit, 2a Temporada (Petit, 2nd Season), directed by Bernardita Ojeda; produced by Pájaro, co-production with Pakapaka, Señal Colombia, and Non Stop (Chile, co-production with Argentina and Colombia)

Homeless Home, directed by Alberto Vázquez; produced by Uniko and Autour de Minuit (Spain, co-production with France)

Memories for Sale, directed by Manuel López; Veritas University (Costa Rica)

Rutas (Routes), directed by Alejandro Imondi; produced by Osa Estudio (Argentina)

GYLT, developed by Tequila Works (Spain)

Elo (Tie), produced by Bando à Parte and Bap Animation Studios, co-production with Providences (Portugal, co-production with France)

Umbrellas, produced by Bígaro Films and Moukda Production (Spain, co-production with France)

Loop, produced by Uniko (Spain, co-production with Argentina)