21 works from 10 countries will compete in the VI Quirino Awards

Los Quirino Awards de la Animación Iberoamericana contarán en su edición de 2023 con un total de 21 obras de 10 países competirán en las nueve categorías de estos galardones creados para promocionar y poner en valor la animación de la región iberoamericana.

Portugal, Argentina and Spain top the list of countries with the most nominations with 10, 9 and 8 respectively. Colombia and Uruguay are present with 2 candidates each, while Brazil, Chile and Peru have one nomination each. Five of the finalist works are co-productions between countries in the Ibero-American region, including Ecuador and Mexico.

Ice Merchants from the Portuguese of João Gonzalez, together with the Argentine Passenger by Juan Pablo Zaramella are the titles that accumulate the greatest number of nominations, divided into four categories. The short The Trash Man and the feature film Nayola, both from Portugal, have been nominated in 3 and 2 categories respectively, reflecting the good international moment that Portuguese animation is going through.

And jury composed of Andrea Fernández (Chilean, art director of “The Cuphead Show!”), Julio Bonet (adult animation manager at Netflix, United Kingdom), Risa Cohen (producer and executive producer for video games and films, United States), Robert Jaszczurowski (producer and director, GS Animation/Grupa Smacznego, Poland) and Simón Wilches-Castro (Colombian, creative director at Titmouse studios) will be in charge of choosing the winners, who will be They will be announced on May 13 in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife.

The finalists by category

All of the finalist works in the category Best Feature Film have been produced in 2D animation. The debut works and the titles aimed at young/adult audiences predominate in this category, in which works from Colombia, Portugal, Brazil and Spain have been selected.

Set in a dystopian world, the Colombian The Other Way marks the feature debut of director Diego Guzmán. The film was recognized at the 2022 Sitges Festival as Best Animated Feature Film. The Portuguese director José Miguel Ribeiro will also compete with his first work, Nayola.

This Praça Filmes production in co-production with Belgium, France and the Netherlands tells the story of three generations of women during the 25 years of the Angolan civil war. Based on a successful Brazilian animated series for children, Tromba Trem – The Movie is the feature debut of director, producer and screenwriter Zé Brandão. Unicorn Wars by the Galician director Alberto Vázquez completes the list of nominees in this category. With this, his second feature, Vázquez has just won the Goya for Best Animated Film and is looking for his third Quirino after having won the award in the Best Short Film category with Decorated y Homeless Home in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

In the category Best Series 2D animation predominates and for children, including Spanish ones. Polinopolis by María Antolini and Martin Guido -produced by Mago Production in co-production with Mexico, France, Argentina-, and Jasmine & Jambo by Silvia Cortés, which seeks to introduce musical concepts and genres to children. It also seeks to musically inspire children. The Little Orchestra, a series directed by Juan Carve and produced jointly by studios and channels from Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, and Spain. The list of finalists in this category is completed with the Chilean Little – Season 3 by Bernardita Ojeda, who competes for the third time after having participated in 2019 with the first season of this series and having won the Quirino, two years later, with the second season.

Portuguese animation stands out in the category Best Short Film with two of the three finalists selected: The Trash Man by Laura Gonçalves and Ice Merchants by João Gonzalez. The first is a production by Bando à Parte that was awarded at the last edition of Animafest Zagreb, while Gonzalez is competing again at the Quirino after winning the award for Best Animation School Short Film with Nestor in 2020. Also a finalist at the Oscars, the short is a production of Cola Animation in co-production with France and the United Kingdom. The finalist shortlist is completed with Passenger, new stop motion work by Argentine director Juan Pablo Zaramella, who in 2018 won the Quirino for Best Series with The smallest man in the world.

As in the last edition, Spanish animation dominates the category Best Animation School Short Film with two works created at the Polytechnic University of Valencia: Chimborazo by Keila Cepeda (in co-production with Ecuador) and Papirola by Fabián Molinaro. This category is completed with Carlos Mountain, short film by Ita Romero from the National University of Córdoba (Argentina).

In addition to the categories already mentioned, the Quirinos will also present trophies in the categories of Best Custom Animation, Best Video Game Animation, and in three technical categories: Best Visual Development, Best Animation Design, and Best Sound Design and Original Music.