Jun 1, 2022

The Ice Merchant" Wins Critics' Week Award at Cannes Short Film Festival

"Ice Merchants," a short film by João Gonzalez that premiered at this year's Cannes Critics' Week, has won the Lights Cine Discovery Award for Best Short Film.

"Ice Merchants" was one of 10 short films (mostly live action) selected in Competition and is the first Portuguese animated film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to this honor, the Lights Cine Discovery Award carries a cash prize of €4,000 ($4,300).

In this film, a father teaches his son how to collect and transport ice from a cliffside hut to a village far below; the two have a close relationship, but it is clear early on that past trauma looms over the cliff dwellers, and the film's understated yet impactful The film's subdued yet impactful color palette underscores this.

"This award is a big surprise for our team, as animation is not usually a big part of the Cannes Film Festival. I would also like to mention two other great animated shorts we saw at the festival, "It's Nice in Here" by Robert-Jonathan Conyers and "Scale" by Joseph Pearce. They are great films and received the best response at the screenings. I am now preparing for my trip to the Guadalajara Film Festival next week. I can't wait to share the film with Mexican audiences.

Gonzalez's previous films include the short films Nestor and The Voyager. A classically trained musician, he is also responsible for the music of the film Ice Merchants, a Portuguese/UK/UK/UK film produced by Bruno Caetano of Cola - Coletivo Audiovisual in collaboration with Mickael Proenza of Wild Stream, the Royal College of Art The film is a Portuguese/UK/French co-production co-produced with.

Correction: In the article, "Ice Merchants" was incorrectly referred to as the first Portuguese animated film to be presented at the Critics' Week. The first Portuguese animated film to be presented at the festival was "The Outlaws" (1994), directed by Abi Feijo. The Ice Merchant was the first Portuguese animated film ever to win an award at the Critics' Week.