The International Animation Film Festival of Espinho, in its 49th edition in the district of Aveiro, highlighted a Portuguese-French co-production among 30 short films in its category for its “very distinct and original visual style.”
The film, one of the prominent themes in the 2025 festival presentations, tells the true 13-minute story of a dog abandoned in its home when the director’s grandfather became a widower as she returned from a season in London, where she experienced great loneliness.
The best of the five feature films in competition at the 49th edition of Cinanima was awarded to German filmmaker Heinrich Sabl for the Franco-German production “Memory Hotel.” The festival jury noted it as “a film as relevant today as at the end of World War II” for its 100-minute exploration of a young woman’s “persistent trauma” using stop-motion to depict the effects of German and Soviet occupation.
The António Gaio Prize for the best national short went to “Wildflower” by Carina Pierro Corso, a Brazilian director based in Portugal. Her 5-minute film was described by the jury as “an experimental and harmonious meditation on the decisions we make in our lives, prompting reflection on what truly matters.”
Alice Eça Guimarães, a Portuguese director, was recognized for her 12-minute short “Porque hoje é sábado,” a co-production between Portugal, France, and Spain. It received both the Audience Award and Best Screenplay for its “bold choice” of storyline.
“Bus,” a Franco-Belgian film by Polish director Sylwia Szkiladz, received the Special Jury Prize for its depiction of an 8-year-old girl’s imaginary journey from Poland to Belgium, offering in 17 minutes “a sensitive portrayal of the migratory reality.”
In the short film category, French director Natalia León was distinguished with “As if the Earth had swallowed them up” in the new “All Aboard” competition, aimed at showcasing original stories that don’t fit standard categories but deserve recognition for their daring nature.
This 14-minute film features a young Mexican woman returning home after living abroad to reconnect with her past. The festival jury praised it for bringing “invisibility to visibility” through animation.
For student-produced cinematography, the Gaston Roch Prize was awarded to “Between the Gaps” by French filmmaker Martin Bonnin. The 4-minute film explores rekindled feelings through a phone call, noted for its simplicity and mastery in both visual and narrative construction.
Other notable animations included “Entre Pelos,” with Feno Dias, Theo Quinhones, and Lucas Serra winning the Young Portuguese Filmmaker Award for creators aged 18 to 30. “O Desafio de Joana,” produced by fourth-year students at Escola Básica das Antas under CLIA ANILUPA – a center for playful animated imagery and Porto’s association of toy libraries, received the same award in the category for filmmakers under 18.
The 49th edition of Cinanima, which began on November 7, featured 110 films in competition, selected from 2,231 applications across 148 countries.
This year, the festival, for the first time in “about 15 years,” resumed awarding monetary prizes ranging from 750 to 1,250 euros. The decision favors five categories — Grand Prize, Best Feature, António Gaio Prize, Gaston Roch, and All Aboard — stemming from a strategy aimed at valuing industry professionals and supporting their productions.
