[Independet Walk/First Filght Jury’s Comment]

From the first festival in 2005, Indie-AniFest has arrived at its 17th edition and has now grown into an international event for independent animations that represent the rest of Asia, receiving 290 films for this year’s festival, among which 71 films were screened.

All of the films presented across multiple sections show artistic sensibility and a deep awareness of their themes. Rather than competing with each other, these films cross national boundaries to become friends and stand side by side together on our main stage.

We offer our support and applause to all the beautiful films that are being created in spite of the challenges that their productions face. And we wish to especially acknowledge those films that were selected to receive the prizes in their respective sections, in consideration of their cinematic and artistic merits and their appeal to a wide audience.

■ Grand Prize 'Star of Indie'

[Namoo] Erick OH 

This film is a true animation in every sense of the word. To put it another way, it is a beautiful film that combines the aesthetic and technical aspects of animation. But simply analyzing an animation as such doesn’t allow us to fully understand all its qualities. This film contains a philosophical message about life and a metaphor for the innate warmth of human beings. And despite our appreciation for these elements, the film leaves us with a feeling that can’t be easily expressed.

■ Prize for Independent Walk

[Boriya] MIN Sung-ah

The 2021 Indie-AniFest Independent Walk section contained 38 films screened across four programs, among which six films were chosen as finalists for the prize. Of these films, the winner of the Independent Walk Prize has a running time of 17 minutes, superb background artwork that shows the scenery of a countryside village, and a   beautiful and tranquil depiction of an ordinary day of a cow and a girl. This film received the greatest support from the jury members, and we look forward to the version of its narration recorded in Korea’s regional dialect.

■ Prize for First Flight

[RIPPLE] OH Se-mi

As audience members and animation creators, we likely fell in love with animation by being fascinated by movement. This film’s elegant animation invites the viewer to enter a city that became a forgotten ruin. The unremembered space, time that stands still, and the memories are revived in a fantastic scene that “breathes life through movement.” This is the essence of animation itself. The protagonist, who has witnessed the rise and fall yet remains serene, lingers in our memory and makes us eagerly await the director’s next film.

■ Jury Special Prize

[The Playground] Grace Nayoon RHEE 

This section brought forth the most debate and deliberation among the jury. It was a sign of how many excellent films we received. This film uses a good mix of many animation techniques in a polished way, and its storytelling and editing ensure that the multiple techniques do not clash with each other. Using themes that are at once difficult but also clear, the film maintains a sense of unity throughout. In addition, the sound and music greatly added to the refinement of the film.

■ Special Prize for Debut Film

[Stereotype] BEAK Nahyun, BEAK Dahyun

This film shows us the bright future of animation. The many elements of animation are combined and expressed as naturally as flowing water, making us become immersed in the film from start to finish. The visual quality and thematic clarity also left a deep impression. The Special Prize for Debut Film can be seen as a first step into the wider world. We hope that this opportunity leads to an even greater leap forward.

■ KAFA Special Prize

[OolangOolang] JO Yeseul 

A girl with very low self-esteem bumps her way through this lively story of growth. In a world where Covid blues and social distancing have become internalized, the main character’s innocent charm without regrets among people, and the constant stream of bright laughter, were enough to entrance all the members of the jury.

The director has a vibrant imagination and an ability to appeal to a wider audience. We look forward with anticipation to this director’s next film.

■ Special Prize for Music / Sound

[RED TABLE] Music Director: Tobayama SAKI

It was a joy to experience so many wonderful films. Music supports a film and helps it to truly shine. At the same time, the music must show a perfect understanding and reflection of the director’s intent. But that does not mean that music plays only a supporting role. The creator of the music must always consider both their own work and the film’s intent. When the needs of both are fulfilled, their synergy causes the film’s refinement to be doubly improved. This jury applauds all the music directors who endured this challenging process.

■ KIAFA Special Prize

[BATTERY DADDY] JEON Seung-bae

This production brings together art, music, literature, and other genres in harmony, with the director’s creative world that shows the mundane everyday life interrupted by a shock. Above all else, it breathes life into objects that had previously stood still in one   fantastic moment. Through this moment, the audience can step outside of   themselves to become other people or even objects, being transformed into the world itself through a surreal experience. It’s the kind of fleeting feeling that entrances directors and inspires them to begin and continue in their own creative efforts in animation.

The director of this film took a small object and breathed life into it in a powerful way. A previously cold thing became something much warmer that reflects our own selves in a variety of forms. Tiny yet durable, it has taken on my own image and that of my future self, and it takes me back to the memories of me and my family from our past.   This adorable and lovable battery lets us remember and long for our own precious families, warming and recharging our own hearts.

The KIAFA Special Prize goes to a film that is filled with its director’s warm perspective about life and love of animation, letting us enjoy a pleasantly slow weekend. We already look forward to the director’s next film that will let us experience the warmth   and aroma of everyday life. Congratulations on receiving this prize.

■ Audience Choice 'Star of Festival'

[OolangOolang] JO Yeseul

[Animated Web Series Jury’s Comment]

Before judging the works, the members of the jury needed to define the parameters of “web series” which has a vast range of possibilities. Digital animated content that can be found online falls under a diverse array of approaches including commercials, branding, music videos, and narrative content. The works nominated for this prize were   truly diverse, as can be expected of digital content.

Among these works, we focused on those that presented strong value as IP. We have arrived at an era in which YouTube has created a new ecosystem for animated content that is short-form but nonetheless offers narratives and worldbuilding. Moreover, the emergence of OTT media platforms means that story-based animations have new possibilities in this encouraging time.

With these points in mind, the Web Series Prize was awarded with the following criteria: the work’s suitability to its platform, the scalability of its worldbuilding, and its potential as a series.

■ Prize for the Best Animated Web Series

[Queen of Ratings] CHOI Jeehee

Despite a short running time of around 2 minutes, this work nevertheless developed its story with a clear narrative structure, and with clear concepts in its genre and tropes that help to deliver an entertaining experience. The structure of a single episode functioned throughout the series to present a clear format that allows us to see the possibilities of the digital animated series.

■ Audience Choice 'Star of Festival’

[20-year-old Romantic Chemistry] BEAK Su-min

[ASIA ROAD Jury Comment]

A group of three jury members reviewed 39 films for the Asia Road section and selected 3 films as award winners. Looking beyond commercial and conventional works, the jury focused on the originality and creativity of animation filmmakers as its main criteria, in keeping with the values of Indie-AniFest which supports works that have personality and unique creative vision.

These films let us enjoy the beauty and hand-made feeling of works created by masters, allowing us to enjoy a range of emotions from the small to the profound. We are grateful to all the Asia Road filmmakers and to Indie-AniFest for allowing us to enjoy these joyful and moving experiences.

■ Grand Prize ‘Light of Asia’

[We Were a Sterile Bomb] Dotan MORENO

This is the story of a man who opens his eyes to love in the midst of his listless everyday life. The poetic and elegant animation uses simple lines, clear colors, and sound and music without words. Instead of dialogue, there is the recitation from a Jewish ritual that adds the weight of a religious layer to this film which was chosen to receive the Grand Prize.

■ Prize for ASIA ROAD

[Dayfly] Baoxingchen YI

2D, 3D, stop-motion, cut-out, and various other animation techniques are advancing and becoming more exquisite in the present era. The question of which animation should receive the prize is becoming more difficult all the time. The Asia Road section had many outstanding and highly polished films. Therefore, selecting this film, which appears rough around the edges, to receive the prize was not an easy decision. Nevertheless, watching this film makes us feel the director’s passion and energy taking flight through animation. And even the most fundamental aspects of animation are part of this non-stop journey. This film was selected to receive the prize for its director’s sensibility, insight, and energy.

■ Jury Special Prize

[Night Bus] Joe HSIEH

This film boasts dense imagery and tense direction. Its peculiar story takes place during a mysterious night-time scene. The style and development of the story gives the feeling of a bustling fantasy or a black comedy. But if we peel away the appearance of a crime suspense thriller that concludes as a morality tale, we reveal the human relationships and cruelty that emphasize function and efficiency within a structure centered on capital, as well as the ironies of life and the deep shadow of death always lurking nearby.

■ Audience Choice 'Star of Festival'

[A Bite of Bone] Honami YANO

■ Audience Jury Choice 

[The Crow Took It.] JEONG Ha-ra

This film has a sensibility in its direction and a simplicity of narration that presents the feelings of embarrassment and discomfort that we may have had in our childhood days, and perhaps still feel to this day. Through this film, the viewers in the audience can relate to a common experience as they each reflect on how their own sense of inferiority manifests itself. The flowing storytelling and direction keep our eyes fixed upon this film which was selected to receive the Audience Jury Prize.