Toronto Animation Arts Festival International Announces Award Winners

Toronto Animation Arts Festival International Announces Award Winners

March 5th, 2019

Jerry Beck

Today, the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI), the premiere destination for animated arts in Toronto, announced award winners for the TAAFI 2019 Film Festival at the Hot Doc Ted Rogers Cinema, which ran on February 15 – 17. Following a successful weekend of artistry and excitement, the film festival celebrated and showcased animated talent across the globe from shorts to feature films.

As the festival came to a close, TAAFI announced the winners within its competitive categories where it welcomed 1664 submissions, this year. This year, the festival awarded HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD director Dean DeBlois as the Animated Person of the Year.

The animation festival hosted an early screening of the third highest grossing film in 2019, DreamWorks Animation’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD, including a Q&A with director Dean DeBlois and voice actor Jay Baruchel. Additionally, TAAFI hosted screenings for Sony Pictures Classics’ RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR; Shout! Factory’s TITO AND THE BIRDS; and GKIDS’ MFKZ.

With four feature length films and 83 short films in three days, many contenders were up for this year’s awards, especially for the coveted Audience Choice Award, determined by audience votes throughout the festival. With a tight running, SPACE BETWEEN STARS, created and directed by Samuel W. Bradley and produced by Guru Studio, won the Audience Choice Award.

Other awards were given in the following categories: Best International Film, Best Canadian Short, Best Kids Short, Best Student Short, and Best of Fest Grand Prix.

Full list of awards, winners and jury who selected the recipients are:

Best International Film – AMERICA
Nadav Arbel
Israel

Best Canadian Short – SPACE BETWEEN STARS
Samuel W. Bradley
Guru Studio

Best Kids Short – HILDA: THE BIRD PARADE
Andy Coyle
Mercury/Netflix

Best Student Short – GIANT CHILD
Camila De Guzman
Seneca College

Best of Fest Grand Prix – HILDA: THE BIRD PARADE
Andy Coyle
Mercury/Netflix

Audience Choice – SPACE BETWEEN STARS
Samuel W. Bradley
Guru Studio

Animated Person of the Year – DEAN DEBLOIS

Author
Recent Posts

Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.