The award for the Best Film of the National Competition at the 19th Pragueshorts Film Festival goes to the animated documentary I Died in Irpin, in which director Anastasiia Falileieva chronicles her memories of the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with unrelenting honesty. The jury of the National Competition also awarded two Special Mentions – to Ema Hůlková’s documentary Butterfly Girl and to Tan Lui Chan’s animated film Keep Out.
„With a sharp focus, precision, superb timing and dark and cat humor the filmmaker and her protagonist dissect the human condition under her microscope while the world around them crumbles … an inventive and personal mixed media animation film“ With these words, the jury, which included film professional and founder of the production company Midnight Blur Films Cao Liuying, Hungarian film producer Gábor Osváth and screenwriter and director Hilke Rönnfeldt, awarded the main prize of the National Competition to I Died in Irpin. The award comes with a financial prize of EUR 2,000 and a voucher to postproduction services from the Beep and PFX studios. The animated documentary by director Anastasia Falileieva, which has been screened at prestigious international festivals in Annecy, Tallinn, Ottawa and Clermont-Ferrand, brings back deeply personal memories of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The jury has also awarded special mentions to two films. Emma Hůlková's documentary Butterfly Girl, currently nominated for the Czech Lion Award and the Magnesia Award for Best Student Film, follows a day in the life of six-year-old Viktorka, who tries to understand the complex relationships within her family. The jury appreciated the film as a touching portrait that captures both the excitement and challenges of growing up. The animated film Keep Out by Tan-Lui Chan tells the story of the lonely lives of digital content creators. The jury recognized the film as a „smart play on what is real and what is fake in the digital age.“
All of the awarded films will be available for online viewing from March 2 until March 23 at the KVIFF.TV streaming platform.
