# Bestia (2021 film)

Bestia (Spanish: Bestia) is a 2021 Chilean stop-motion animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias and co-written with Martín Erazo. The film won Best Animated Short Subject at the 49th Annie Awards. It also made the shortlist for Best Animated Short Film at the 94th Academy Awards, later achieving the nomination, becoming the second Chilean animated short film to be nominated for an Oscar after Bear Story in 2016, which won the award.

## Synopsis

The main character is inspired by Íngrid Olderöck, a police major and DINA agent during the Chilean military dictatorship, responsible for human rights violations in that period. According to Covarrubias, the objective of the film is not a biography of Olderöck but:
   A visit to her secret life, her relationship with her dog, her fears and frustrations, which are ultimately the x-ray of a country that is fractured, a country that it is full of wounds that are not even close to healing yet.

## Release

The film screened at the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it competed in the Short Films section and won the Festival Connexion Award.

## Production

Bestia is the third animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias, after El almohadón de pluma (2007) and La noche boca arriba (2012). The idea arose with the intention of addressing part of the history of Chile "with lesser-known characters, less official and darker". Although the original objective was to produce an animated series, Covarrubias decided to focus on one of those stories to make a unitary short film.
The technique used was stop motion animation, which was done by Covarrubias and Matías Delgado. The design of the protagonist was based on the aesthetics of porcelain dolls, to convey the inexpressiveness and coldness of the character. The character was created with polyurethane resin bathed in crystal resin, to give her face a texture similar to ceramic. Meanwhile, the sets and decorations were made with different opaque cardboards to create a contrast with the brightness of the resin.
The short film was produced by Tevo Díaz, through the company Trébol 3, while Cecilia Toro worked as a costume designer and art producer. Its financing came from the "Audiovisual Development Fund" of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage of Chile.

## Accolades

| Year | Ceremony | Award/Category | Status |
| 2018 | ANIMA LATINA: Festival de Cine de Animación Latinoamericano | Best Latin American Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | ANIMA - Córdoba International Animation Festival | Best Latin American Short Film - Best Animation | Won |
| 2021 | ANIMA - Córdoba International Animation Festival | Best Animated Short Film - Gran Jury Prize | Won |
| 2021 | ANIMARIO - International Contemporary Animation Festival of Madrid | Best Shortfilm | Won |
| 2021 | Annecy International Animated Film Festival | Festivals Connexion Award | Won |
| 2021 | Annecy International Animated Film Festival | Annecy Crystal (Best Short Film) | Nominated |
| 2021 | ANTOFACINE International Film Festival | Best International Shortfilm | Won |
| 2021 | ANTOFACINE International Film Festival | Best Shortfilm Young Jury | Won |
| 2021 | BITBANG Fest | First Jury Mention | Won |
| 2021 | Berlin Interfilm Festival | Best Animation - International Competition | Won |
| 2021 | Berlin Interfilm Festival | Confrontations Online Award- 2nd Prize | Won |
| 2021 | Bucheon International Animation Film Festival | Best International Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | Chilemonos International Animation Film Festival | Best Latin American Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival | Best Animation - International Competition | Won |
| 2021 | Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival | Grand Prix - International Competition | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fam de Todos | Best Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | Viña del Mar International Film Festival | Best Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | Guadalajara International Film Festival | Best Animated Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | Imaginaria Film Festival | Best Animated Short Film | Won |
| 2021 | Ottawa International Animation Festival | Independent Short Animation | Nominated |
| 2021 | StopTrik International Film Festival | Audience Grand Prix | Won |
| 2021 | StopTrik International Film Festival | Best Shortfilm LODZ edition. | Won |
| 2021 | StopTrik International Film Festival | Special Mention Yiorgos Tsangaris | Won |
| 2021 | StopTrik International Film Festival | Students Special Mention | Won |
| 2021 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Best Animation Short | Won |
| 2021 | Vila do Conde International Short Film Festival | Great Prize Cidade Vila do Conde | Nominated |
| 2022 | Annie Awards | Best Animated Short Subject | Won |
| 2022 | Academy Awards | Best Animated Short Film | Nominated |
| 2022 | Quirino Awards | Best Animated Short Film | Won |
| 2022 | Quirino Awards | Best Visual Development (Hugo Covarrubias, Constanza Wette, Pablo Castillo, Cecilia Toro) | Won |
| 2022 | Quirino Awards | Best Animation Design (Hugo Covarrubias, Matias Delgado) | Nominated |
| 2022 | Quirino Awards | Best Sound Design and Original Music (Roberto Espinoza, Roberto Zúñiga, Ángela Acuña, Camilo Salinas) | Nominated |