The award for Best Film in the National Competition went to the animated documentary I Died in Irpin, in which director Anastasiia Falileieva records her memories of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with unrelenting honesty. The National Competition jury also awarded two Special Mentions – to the documentary “Ani se nenaděješ a už se jmenuješ” by Ema Hůlková, and to the animated short No Entry by Tan-Lui Chan.
“The director and her protagonist, with relentless insight, microscopic precision, extraordinary readiness, and dark, feline humor, examine the human condition at a time when the surrounding world is collapsing… The film is an imaginative and personal mosaic of various types of animation,” said the jury, which included Cao Liuying, a film professional and founder of the production company Midnight Blur Films, Hungarian film producer Gábor Osváth, and screenwriter-director Hilke Rönnfeldt, in their justification for awarding I Died in Irpin the top prize.
The award includes a financial prize of 2,000 EUR and a voucher for sound and image post-production services from PFX and Beep studios. The animated documentary, directed by Anastasiia Falileieva, has been screened at prestigious international festivals such as Annecy, Tallinn, Ottawa, and Clermont-Ferrand, and brings deeply personal memories of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The festival audience also voted to give the Audience Award to the film Hurikán. Directed by Jan Saska, the animated film recently won the Critics’ Prize for Best Short Film and was nominated for a Czech Lion for Best Animated Film.
The winning film I Died in Irpin is available to watch online from March 2 to March 23 on the KVIFF.TV streaming platform.
Movie page – I Died in Irpin
Movie page – Hurikán
VOD – I Died in Irpin – KVIFF.TV
