KingstOOn 2021 announced winners of the Animation Film Festival and Conference.

KingstOOn organizers confirmed the winners in several categories during the fourth edition of the Animation Film Festival and Conference, which ended today, and received a record number of entries: more than 4,000 from 100 countries, the most in its history.

Animators from 108 countries submitted nearly 1,500 projects for the “Best International Short Film” category, followed by more than 750 in the “Best International Student Film” category and approximately 300 in the Best International Special Effects Film category. That gave a total of more than 2500 entries, which was also a record for KingstOOn, organized by the Government of Jamaica under the YEDAI project in collaboration with the World Bank.

The objectives of the event are to provide Jamaican and Caribbean animators with ways to continue to learn about the global industry; to create opportunities for producers to generate revenue from their projects; and to showcase diverse content, including film and animation products from around the world. Prizes for this year’s event included licenses for Toon Boom Harmony; Toon Boom Storyboard Pro; TVPaint Animation 11.5 Professional Edition; scholarship opportunities to attend Capilano University’s online summer animation program; and Wacom graphics tablets.

Finalists in the “Concept” category presented their creations to Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon at B2B networking meetings. Winners in the “Best Caribbean Short Film” category also had the opportunity to have their project aired on Television Jamaica and the chance to negotiate broadcast rights with Movistar, the Spanish telco that operates throughout Latin America.

The “Best Concept” winners will have the opportunity to negotiate a development, representation and co-production deal with Africa Animation Network and Baboon Animation Studios. This year’s event included a variety of international speakers from companies such as Disney, Netflix, Sony Animation, Nickelodeon, Pixar, Sesame Street, HiT Entertainment and Lion Forge. The central theme of the event was ‘Diversity in Animation’ with three sessions structured to focus specifically on the issues of diversity and cultural inclusion within media.

KingstOOn 2021 winners were:

Kingstoon Emerging Animated Content Contest.
“Best Storyboard.”
– Mango Man by Andre Rankine – Jamaica (1st place)
– Mental by Chevon Irving – Jamaica (2nd runner up)
– Colors in the Wind by Gabrielle Watts – Jamaica (2nd runner up).

“Best Character Design”.
– Doc the National Bird by Gary Plummer – Jamaica (1st place)
– Row-Row the Throw Pro by Melisa Kerr – Jamaica (1st place)
– Taegan, The Prosthesis Hero by Renee Ross – Jamaica (2nd place)

“Best Caribbean Short Film”.
– TOL by Dylan Attelly, Jérémy Gravinay, Joëllia Rose, Stephen Martingoulet, Matthieu Templet-Nadeau, Anne-Isabelle Zamant and Tiffani Browne – Martinique (1st place).
– The Big Catch by Arminda Bailey – Trinidad and Tobago (2nd place)

“Best Concept” (finalists participated in the Pitch Boot Camp and Pitch Competition)
– Jellyman Adventures by Shaquille Crosse, Kyle- Andrew Lee, Chevardi Gray and Dwayne Pottinger – Jamaica (1st place)
– HOWZATT by Rene Holder and Tracy Hutchings – Trinidad and Tobago (2nd place)

KingstOOn International Animated Film Competition.
“Best International Special Effects Film”.
– The Quiet by Radheya Jegatheva – Australia (1st place)
– The Last Mother by Megan de Jong and Garai Vorm – The Netherlands (2nd place)

“Best International Student Film”.
– The Sugarcane Man by Tina Obo, Leroy Le Roux – South Africa (1st place)
– Feeling Blues By Astrid Massad, Nicolas Lipari, Marion Morgante, Maria-Louiza Bitsou, Guillaume Clamart-Mezeray – France (2nd place)

“Best International Short Film”.
– Biji by Kin Lek Chew – Malaysia (1st place).
– C is for Cars by Warren Brown – Canada (2ndPlace)

“Best International Feature Film”.
– The Fixies vs. Crabots by Vasili Bedoshvili, Ivan Pshonkin and Oleg Uzhinov – Russian Federation (1st Place)
– The Heritage of Sri Sutturu Math by Abdul Kareem – India (2nd place)