Nighthawk, by Slovenian director Špela Čadež, received special mention at DOK Leipzig. The jury awarded the film for its ‘fresh and creative take on the story of a drunk badger’. Čadež wrote the film with Gregor Zorc, while the editor is Iva Kraljević. The film is a Slovenian-Croatian co-production, and the Croatian producer is Bonobostudio. This is Čadež’s second film, and since its international premiere in September, it has been screened at nine festivals, including the Ottawa International Animated Film Festival. Along with the award in Leipzig, Nighthawk also won Best Animated Film at the Festival of Slovenian Film in Portorose. 

The Beast won the ‘Green S.O.S. Award’ at the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan. The award is given to films with themes focusing on the environment. The film’s director also received a 5000 USD cash prize. The Beast was selected the winner among a competition of 72 films. This is Miroslav Sikavica’s third award after special mentions in Cannes and Sarajevo earlier this year, and the Grand Prix at the Quebec City Film Festival. In the coming weeks, The Beast will be screening at the Free Zone Film Festival in Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad, the Stockholm International Film Festival, and the Short Film Festival of Villeurbanne in France.

Veljko Popović’s animated short Planemo won at one of the world’s most unusual festivals: the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival in Japan. Planemo won the Minister of Foreign Affairs Award in the international competition held last weekend. The film is produced by Lemonade 3D/Krupni Kadar and 3D2D Animations, while Bonobostudio is the distributer. This is the film’s third award. The festival has been taking place since 2014 in Hokkaido, Japan, in an airport terminal.

Cover photos: scenes from The Beast, Planemo and Nighthawk; Veljko Popović receiving award in Japan