Manchester Animation Festival has come to a close for another year. The UK's biggest animation festival, and the UK's only Oscar and BAFTA Qualifying animation festival, it's quite a big deal. And as always, the event climaxed with the annual awards ceremony, where the prize winners and industry excellence honourees were revealed.
Hosted by comedian and writer Alasdair Beckett-King, the evening was a celebration of animation across the spectrum, with awards presented in categories including Short Film, Feature Film, British Film, Student Film, Commissioned Film, Immersive, Film For Children and the all-important audience award. Winners were presented with the coveted Manchester Animation Festival Trophies, designed by the legendary puppet-makers Mackinnon & Saunders.
The ceremony opened with the Industry Excellence awards, which recognise oustanding work by individuals behind the scenes. These include script writing, storyboarding, character design and character animation.
Festival director Steve Henderson says “There have been so many enriching conversations this week about the future of animation. At a tricky time for the animation industry, seeing such a range of wonderful, handcrafted, and intricate masterpieces celebrated - and awarded - here at the festival is genuinely heartwarming and brilliant, obliterating any doom and gloom!”
The 2025 Industry Excellence Winners Are...
Script Writing
Davey Moore for Maddie and Triggs (CBeebies/RTÉjr)
Storyboarding
Sasha Fusini for Supertato (BBC)
Character Animation
Dave McKenna for Maddie and Triggs (CBeebies/RTÉjr)
Character Design
Saeed Rezvani for Mojo Swoptops (CBeebies)
The Manchester Animation Film Award Winners Are...
Feature Film
Winner: ‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain’ by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (France)
The Jury said:
It was a unanimous decision by the jury who were all blown away by the originality and creativity of this film. We were transported by the tender and heartwarming story of family, seen from the point of view of the two-year-old girl. There was a real cohesion within the film from the art direction, animation, voice performances, music and sound design that came together beautifully in this unique and moving feature.
Short Film
Winner: ‘Sulaimani’ by Vinnie Ann Bose (France)
The Jury said:
This short film explores the cultural nuances, societal expectations and internal conflict of leaving India with real depth and care. Dancing seamlessly between stop motion & 2D, the mixed media format enhanced the storytelling and its evocative imagery. With strong characterisation and real emotions.
Special Mention: ‘Dog Ear’ by Péter Vácz (Hungary)
British Short Film
Winner: ‘Two Black Boys in Paradise’ by Baz Sells (United Kingdom)
The Jury said:
Our winning film is as gorgeous and visually poetic as it is bold and unapologetic in its storytelling. The film expertly weaves a number of British themes into the fabric of this film, among them the intersection of race, gender and sexuality. The filmmakers handle their subject matter with such care and grace, giving us a celebration of Black, queer love and leaving us with a universal invitation to welcome love.
Special Mention: ‘Brain Space’ by Laura Tofarides (United Kingdom)
Student Film
Winner: ‘The Twelve Inch Pianist’ by Lucas Ansel (United States)
The Jury said:
Unexpected. Absurd. Funny. We loved every inch of this film!
Special Mention: ‘Urban Duo’ by Hongyu Yue (China)
Immersive Film
Winner: ‘Out of Nowhere’ by Kris Hoffman (Austria)
The Jury said:
This immersive work is crafted with great subtlety and extensive detail which makes the navigation and interaction feel intuitive and culminates in a moving experience. The use of VR to depict the immersion and urgency of flooding places the user directly in the ravages of climate change to create empathy and engagement, landing the themes and message with impact.
Special Mention: ‘Less Than 5gr of Saffron’ by Négar Motevalymeidanshah (France)
Commissioned Film
Winner: ‘Desi Oon’ by Suresh Eriyat (India)
The Jury said:
This commercial work is a joyful and visually dynamic film for charity. Simultaneously funny, informative and reflective, the story really warrants the material and the craft. A skilful blend of a commercial, music video and call to action, all very neatly and literally wrapped in wool!
Special Mention: ‘Naive New Beaters & Star Feminine Band’ by Ye Kou Si Kuo (France)
Audience Award
The audience award was voted for by Manchester Animation Festival Delegates.
Winner: ‘Ovary-Acting’ by Ida Melum (United Kingdom)
Short Films for Children
The Short Film for Children Category was judged by Into Film’s curation team.
Winner: ‘Forevergreen’ by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears (United States)
The Jury said:
We were unanimous in being equally impressed and enchanted by this gorgeously-rendered animation about the relationship between an orphaned bear cub and the tree which looks out for him, with all-too-relevant themes around the natural world and the need to protect our environment. This labour of love serves as an inspirational example of the creative process between animators who have combined their talents to bring their vision to life.
The Manchester Animation Festival Fellowship was presented to Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, in recognition of their 25 years of fantastic animation and exquisite storytelling. The award was accepted by co-founders Tomm Moore, Paul Young and Nora Twomey.
The ceremony brought to an end another very successful festival. The festival featured numerous UK premieres, exclusive talks, panels and insight. Highlights included the UK premiere of the eagerly anticipated I Am Frankelda, Q&As with the directors of In Your Dreams and The Last Blossom, a talk from UK animation legend Joanna Quinn, and a screening of Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg. Walt Disney Animation Studios' Chad Sellers and Renato dos Anjos were in town to offer an exclusive preview of the upcoming Zootropolis 2 (aka Zootopia 2) while Adult Swim previewed their upcoming shows. There were also talks from big names like Epic Games, Magic Light Pictures, Indsutrial Light and Magic, DNEG, Moho Animation and BBC Studios Kids and Family. The Young Animators Of The Year (YAY) were also recognised in a separate ceremony, celebrating a whole new generation of animators.
Manchester Animation Festival will return next year.
The online component of the festival runs from
Friday, November 14- Sunday, November 30. Listen to our MAF special episode of The AFA Podcast, featuring six filmmakers from this year's festival
here.
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