"HIPPOS" WIN THE ANIMATED FILM FESTIVAL IN OTTAWA

On 21 September, the latest film by Piotr Dumała, entitled "Hippos" won the Grand Prix award of the prestigious Ottawa Animated Film Festival. The award-winning film was produced by the Fumi Studio from Warsaw.

This year, 2033 films from 70 countries were submitted to take part in the Ottawa festival. 101 short and 5 feature-length animated films were accepted to screen  in the competitive sections. In addition, 71 films were shown in the non-competitive sections; these showed the craft of the students and animators from Canada as well as abroad.

On the last day of the festival, at the awards gala, the film by Dumała,  "Hippos" was given the Grand Prix, according to the decision of the jury, consisting of three people.

Several naked women and children bathe in the river, a group of men is looking at them from their hiding place, they decide to come closer, and their meeting takes a dramatic turn, inspired by the events from hippos' lives.

So far, the animated film by Piotr Dumała participated in the programmes of numerous film festivals. The film also received awards and special mentions, among others, at the festivals Animafest Zagreb, Cinefiesta in Puerto Rico and Countryside Animafest in Cyprus. The screening in Ottawa was the film's North-American première. The Canadian award gives Dumała a chance to apply for the Academy Award nomination.

Apart from the film by Dumała, also another Polish film - "Baths" by Tomek Ducki - was shown in the international animated film competition. Moreover, in the non-competitive section appeared two animations made in co-production: "Blue Room" by Tomasz Siwiński (Poland/France) and "Penismouse" by Kristof Babaski (Poland/Great Britain).

The festival in Ottawa is the largest film festivals in North America devoted exclusively to animated film and one of the leading animated film festivals in the world. Two-day conference TAC covering the programme of numerous pitching sessions and presentations, accompanies the festival. Every year, the most important buyers, programmers and distributors related to the international animated film industry participate in the conference.

This year's edition of the festival in Ottawa was held from 17 to 21 September.

You can read more about the festival here