The Quirino Awards recognize the best Ibero-American animation with an in-person gala

Los Quirino Awards for Ibero-American Animation They were delivered this weekend during an in-person gala held at the Teatro Leal in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife), and broadcast live to the entire world.

Adventures starring people with disabilities or children who question the world of adults, and stories with a social background stand out in a list of winners spread across Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico and Portugal.

2D animation predominates among the winning works that are aimed at both children and family audiences, as well as adult audiences. Sponsored by Cabildo de Tenerife through the Tenerife Film Commission, the Quirino Awards confirm with this new edition its relevance in the construction of a common space for animation in the 23 countries of the region.

The Mexican A costume for Nicolás, Eduardo Rivero's debut film written and produced by Miguel Ángel Uriegas, was recognized as Best Feature Film. The film tells the story of Nicolás, a boy with Down syndrome who, with the help of different costumes that his mother left him as a souvenir, embarks on an adventure in a kingdom immersed in chaos. The main character has been voiced by Fran Fernández, who was also born with Down syndrome. After LThe incredible story of the stone boy (2015) y The angel in the clock (2017), this is the third film from Photosíntesis, an animation production company that is committed to raising awareness about different themes through children's films for the whole family.

In the Best Series category, the award went to Petit – 2nd season by Bernardita Ojeda, a production by the Chilean company Pájaro in collaboration with Argentina and Colombia that was nominated for the International Emmy Kids Awards. Adaptation of Pate, El Monstruo by illustrator Isol, this series for preschoolers tells the adventures of a 5-year-old boy capable of resolving his conflicts from an original perspective. The director has been a finalist for the Quirino 2019 with the first season of this same series.

After having won the award for Best Short Film in the first edition of the Quirino, the Galician director Alberto Vázquez has once again raised the trophy with Homeless Home. Produced by Uniko together with the French company Autour de Minuit, the short presents a social story in the key of a fantastic parable, with witches, orcs, sorcerers and ghosts as protagonists. The work receives this award after having been selected in more than 50 festivals around the world and having won the Jury Prize at the last edition of the Annecy Festival.

In addition to these three main categories, six other works were awarded, including Memories for Sale, Manuel López's first work, which was recognized as Best Animation School Short Film. Produced by the Veritas University and made in traditional 2D, this was the first work from Costa Rica to be nominated and win at the Quirino; Argentina Routes, a work directed by Alejandro Imondi and produced by Osa Estudio, which received the award for Best Custom Animation; and CULT, from the Spanish studio Tequila Works, which won Best Video Game Animation, an award that is given for the second time after its creation last year.

Technical categories

The list of winners was completed with the presentation of three awards in the technical categories of Best Visual Development for the short How much from the Portuguese Alexandra Ramires; Best Animation Design for the Spanish short Umbrellas, co-directed by José Prats and Álvaro Robles; and Best Sound Design and Original Music for Loop, a short film directed by Argentinian Pablo Polledri and produced by Uniko from Bilbao.

The finalists were selected from a total of 265 works from 17 countries, and the jury It was made up of the Frenchman Jean François Tosti (TAT productions), the Portuguese Joana Toste (animator and director), the Brazilian Paula Taborda (Planeta Junior) and the Spanish Sergio Jiménez (Pinkman.TV). At the gala, tribute was also paid to the Cuban cartoonist and animated film director Juan Padron, creator of classics like Elpidio Valdes y Vampires in Havana.

The awards were presented by Beatriz Navas, General Director of the ICAA, Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts; María Peña Mateos, CEO of ICEX, Spain Exports and Investments; Rubén Pérez Castellano, General Director of Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands; Yaiza López Landi, Councilor for Culture and Citizen Participation; Alejandro Krawietz, Counselor and General Director of Culture of the Cabildo de Tenerife; and David Pérez, CEO of Tourism of Tenerife.