Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 25, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
From more than 200 submitted films, 23 selected entries by young directors from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, France, India, Israel, Canada, Scotland, Switzerland, Serbia, Spain and the USA offered an exciting competition in Berlin on October 11. One winning team from Paris was able to be flown in at short notice and accept the prize in person; the other prize winners were present with video messages.
The presentation of Webcuts.07 in Second Life was also positively received. Filmmaker Bharat Sarwiya from India, whose entry „Matter & Keys“ was among this year’s nominees, was one of the avatars who had followed the cinema screening in Second Life: „Saw the SECOND LIFE broadcast yesterday night. Loved every moment of it.”
The jury of media experts did not have an easy time judging the movies: always state-of-the-art from design and film studios, but also independent works by young authors and university students. Cinema audiences and the avatars at the cinema screening in Second Life likewise chose their favorite. At the party in the Club Lounge/Homebase, the successful award ceremony at Potsdamer Platz was then celebrated until late into the night.
It is still open who will receive the Webcuts.07 Community Award, which will be determined over the next four weeks. Anyone who goes to the Webcuts platform and registers for the Sevenloadchannel can participate.
The digital „WebKatz“ trophy and software packages worth a total of almost 20,000 euros were awarded to:
Category; „Best Film“
Title: „I lived on the Moon”
Filmmaker: Yannick Puig (France/Spain)
Reason: „From the very first second, „I Lived On The Moon“ casts a spell through its extraordinary design of the characters, the visual language and symbolism. Not least the pace, which goes hand in hand with the music, makes this film an outstanding work. At first we see the world only as puppet theater, a performance made of paper and cardboard, influenced by Tibetan and Nepalese art and color worlds. Then the journey begins steeply upwards and we fly steadily together with the boy towards the moon. Here, 3D animation – beyond photorealism – shows its full strength and impact. The atmosphere and gravity of living creatures known from the underwater world but floating here in the sky create a melancholic dream world. The escape from the people – symbolically dressed as fighters of the sun in threatening red – only just succeeds.“
Prize presented by Ludwig von Reiche, COO Mental Images GmbH: Digital “WebKatz” trophy and 10 licenses of the 3D rendering software MentalRay and Mainconcept Reference MPEG2+H624 Decoder.
Category: „Best Animation“
Title: „En Tus Brazos“
Filmmakers: Matthieu Landour, Edouard Jouret, FX Gorby (France)
Reason: „En Tus Brazos“ impresses with its skillful cuts, a sophisticated set design and perfect coordination of the dance animations with the music of the tango.
Emotions, sensuality, passion, paired with melancholy. All this can be found in „En Tus Brazos”. A story of tragic beauty to the rhythm of a famous tango.
The film has a special Argentine note, but it was not produced in South America, as might be expected: three French animators succeed here in moving and captivating the viewer emotionally. Alors, toutes nos félicitations à Matthieu Landour et Edouard Jouret.“
Prize presented by Sven Assmann, Chairman interface!berlin: Digital “WebKatz” trophy and the sound software Ableton Live 6 and Mainconcept Reference MPEG2 Decoder!
Category: “Best Story”
Title: „Leftovers“
Filmmaker: Igor Coric (Serbia)
Reason: „The film impressed the jury above all with the simple forcefulness of its narrative style. The viewer is presented with a display case whose basic setting never changes. But within the story being told there, the tension and amazement at completely unexpected developments increase.
The decision for the unmoving camera setting, which in the course of the story shows us the protagonists’ life courses, each cut short to different degrees, like a kind of peep show, actually initially produces a detached view of the story. Illustration and coloring, constant flickering of the lines, the entrances and exits of the most varied actors, extreme differences in size between foreground and background show animated-film tradition. As a representative of „Generation Flash“, this animated film now reaches an expanded audience via the Internet. Starting from the simple everyday action: „Woman hangs out laundry…“ all sorts of things happen. The obvious creativity in conceiving these storylines prompted us to award „Leftovers“ the prize for „Best Story“! Congratulations to Serbia!“
Prize, presented by Prof. Susanne Mayer, Stuttgart Media University: Digital „WebKatz“ trophy and the video software Avid Xpress Pro 5.7 and Mainconcept Reference MPEG2 Decoder!
Category: „Best Design“
Title: „Codehunters“
Filmmakers: Ben Hibon, Dana Dorian (Scotland, United Kingdom)
Reason: „Not so much the story but the result impressed us greatly, above all visually – Codehunters looks like a successful symbiosis of manga and 3D animation.
„Codehunters“ is a great epic about the battle of giants in an apocalyptic world. Western and science fiction are skillfully mixed. Mangas, the hand-drawn Japanese comics and animated films, have also become cult in Europe. Their transfer to the third dimension has been implemented very convincingly in Codehunters, without losing the unmistakable charm. One could almost think that everything here was hand-drawn.“
Prize presented by Marc Schleiss, winner Webcuts.06: Digital “WebKatz” trophy and the sound software Ableton Live 6 and Mainconcept Reference MPEG2 Decoder!
Audience Award:
Title: „Global Warming“
Filmmaker: Sheldon Lieberman (Australia)
Prize presented by Kai Wermer, Freshmilk: Apple iPod Shuffle and Mainconcept Reference MPEG2 Decoder!
Further links:
- Webcuts.07
