Animae Caribe, the Caribbean’s only animation and new media festival, recently concluded with an awards ceremony that saw some of the best local and international animators recognized for their work. The kudo fest was held at the Hyatt Hotel in Trinidad last Saturday evening.
With the addition of Best Caribbean Animation, five awards were bestowed. Most Promising Newcomer went to Ansar Sattar (Trinidad and Tobago) for One Night in Piarco. The Best Student Award was given to Royal College of Art student Maryam Mohajer (Iran) for And Life Went On, while Most Outstanding Animation was reserved for Simon Tofield (U.K.) for Let Me In. The winner of Best Caribbean Animation was Seon Thompson (Trinidad and Tobago) for Small Ting Mentality and Best Commercial Anmation went to Rostant Advertising for ‘Making the News TVC,’ animated by Roy Williams for Guardian Holdings Ltd.
The event attracted professionals in the field of animation from around the world, including Africa, the U.K., France, the U.S. and the Caribbean. Distinguished guests included Daniel Greaves, who won the 1991 Academy Award for Best Animated Short; professor Ken Julien, president of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT); and Patrice Matthews, marketing manager for the the Trinidad and Tobago Film Company. Both organizations were sponsors of this year’s event, along with Toon Boom of Canada.
Now in its seventh year, the animation festival was held over five days as part of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival to raise awareness and interest in the field of animation in the Caribbean. Activities included screenings of short films at the St. James Amphitheatre and Movie Towne, special guest performances and lectures, animation workshops and seminars and a School’s Fair.
