The 24th ifva Awards
Animation Category Jury Meeting Transcript
Jury Members: Lo Che Ying (Lo), Ulrich Wegenast (Wegenast), Liu Jian (Liu), Peter
Ng (Ng), Yu Ka Ho (Yu)
Organizer representative: Kattie Fan (Fan), Samantha Szeto (Szeto)

Fan:

Today, our mission is to select the prizes of the Animation Category that weare going to present at the awards ceremony. We have the Gold Award, thewinner is entitled to HK$50,000 in cash and a trophy, Silver Award, thewinner is entitled to HK$30,000 and a trophy, and Special Mention, no cash
prize, just a certificate as encouragement. If you have no questions about thefilms or the assessment criteria, we can discuss the animations you have justwatched one by one, and after that we can nominate the prizes. We can begin
with The Lighthouse. Feel free to express your comments, views andperspectives.

Lo:

A nice and heart-warming piece of work. Technically, it’s not complicated,
it’s a very simple work, just a hand-drawn animation with not complicatedmovements. I like the art direction, illustration, use of color and the texture,
the best of all is the story-telling. The dialogue tells a very simple but moving
story. The pacing and everything are nice, as is the music and sound effects.
I love this work.

Liu:

The work is simple and moving, but the emotional expression is too simple
and conceptual. It is a mediocre work.

Wegenast: My position is in between. It has originality, maybe it’s a story we have seenin animations around the globe, about industrialization, nostalgia, poetry.
Maybe it’s a bit too naïve. Anyhow, I like the artwork, the very special
atmosphere created in the film; I’m not sure if the sound is a bit over-done,
it was good but maybe the effect is too much. In general, it creates a uniqueworld and it tells the story of many Asian big towns and leads us to rethink
what is happening with cities. It’s an issue also discussed in Europe, but in
Asia city development is more straight-forward. It’s an issue very muchdiscussed in Asia and in China. The topic is very important. I want to keep
this work in the final discussion.
Yu:

You pointed out the differences between Europe and Asia, aboutindustrialization and demolishing the old houses. It seems like it’s more1

political here in Asia, and involves more brute force. I also think the piece is
nicely done; the topic is very common and often talked about. I also agreewith you that the music may be over-dramatic. I wish the music doesn’t startat the very beginning. It’s nicely done, but it doesn’t stay inside me that much,there is not much aftertaste.
Ng:

I liked this work initially (in the first-round jury meeting). It’s a strange
feeling. From the technique to story-telling and how they encounter thelighthouse, the director tells a smooth story that moves the audience.
Watching it in a theatre adds to the work’s charms. I agree that the music andstory-telling need not be so direct. On the whole it is a well-rounded work
which leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Fan:

I’d like to add that overall, we received 113 works this year for the Animation
Category. The first-round jurors including Yu Ka-ho, Peter Ng and Tsui Kahei shortlisted these 10 finalists. Maybe we can move on to the next work,
Automatonomy.

Lo:This is a stop-motion animation. We see a lot of animation on this theme,
about human and robots. For this kind of theme, if you can do something new,like visually or with execution, it can be interesting, but this work does nothave that. The art direction is kind of familiar, like using two screws for theeyes. It can be better.

Liu:

I don’t really like this work. Perhaps the director spent too much time on the
production and the storytelling is not good. For me, this is a pass.

Wegenast: I agree, it’s like a boy’s fantasy, like playing with puppets. They are so into
the cinematography that they forget storytelling. The story itself, with theidea of sacrifice, should have many more possibilities. However it is veryminimal, so it’s “out” for me.
Lo:

There is no interaction between the robot and the boy.

Yu:

I also think the storytelling is weak. The reason we picked it is that thecraftsmanship is quite good. It’s not perfect, but for a student film, which I
suppose it is, it is technically quite good, but the storytelling is not there yet.

Ng:

Among the more than 100 entries, there were some stop motion animations,which we realize how difficult it is to do. This work tries very hard to achieve
this format, but the story is not very attractive, and the relationship between
the boy and the girl is not well-expressed.
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Fan:

The next work is Toxic Relationship.

Wegenast: I like the work, it’s very original, about psychology, the inner world,
relations, being split up, etc. Animation is a good medium to show those innerworlds. I really saw some new, original iconography in the film. The
animation is quite fluid, sometimes it’s even loose and playful, jumping into
the imagery. It is also very musical. The part at the end where she is coming
together, being not fragmented and divided anymore, maybe it’s notnecessary to have that kind of blood. The animation is very short, but feels
longer because there is so much imagery in it. Even though the technology is
not new, I love how it is done.
Lo:

It’s a good piece of work, unique and original in the design, art direction andmovement. The director is female, and explores relationship between maleand female from a woman’s perspective. The pacing is too fast, the work
should be longer. There are too many thoughts and ideas inside, and it is easy
to lose something, maybe one needs to watch it several times to understandmore what the director wants to say. It is like a dance.

Ng:

This film has added charm when seen in a theatre. Compared with The
Lighthouse, with this film, I don’t know what will happen from one frame to
the next. The female director shows different scenarios happening in
relationships, which fills me with a sense of expectation and novelty. I haveseen the film many times, but each time I make new discoveries andappreciate this work more. I agree that the pace can be adjusted or the length
increased. Nonetheless, the work’s art and color are all very well done.

Yu:

I like it too, but also agree with Lo Sir that the rhythm and pacing is too fast,
I wish it was much longer, it feels so compressed with so many things in it. I
also like the way she uses imageries to represent certain emotions and mental
states, but I feel like the story itself may be too typical, it doesn’t delve deep
enough into the psychology and sophistication of the human psyche.
However, I highly consider this work.

Liu:

It’d be better if the structure was more rigorous.

Lo:

The movements can also be better. Now, some movements are too simple.

Liu:

On the big screen you can see some flaws.

Yu:

When the man betrays the woman, it happens in a way that is too simple and3superficial to me. In just a split second, you see him looking at another girl,and then they break up. To me that was not very convincing.
Fan:

The next work is imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura.

Lo:

Technically, the work is quite complicated, the object they use is real, andmochi is very hard to handle. The director makes the movement very
complicated and there are many variations with the camera movement. The
music is also very good, the song is nice. You watch it and feel happy andwant to eat mochi or something. There are not many messages behind it, it’s
just a playful film.

Liu:

I like this work, too. I like simple and pure animations, and such works are
increasingly rare.

Lo:

Nowadays people use CG instead of real objects.

Wegenast: I also like the simplicity, playfulness and the music, and I also agree that
there are fewer and fewer animation nowadays that use real, tactile objects.
But for me it’s not very original. There is no deeper sense, even though it is
not about deeper sense. The artist fulfilled what they aimed at, but the work
seems like an experiment, and not a very progressive experiment. It’s nice towatch, like listening to a relaxing song, but I would not fight for it in the final
discussion.
Yu:

In the statement, the artist wrote that the work was done by hacking VR
devices and stop-motion software. I didn’t know about this until now. This
gave me a little different impression. I have watched it more than two times,
I enjoyed it. It does not leave a strong aftertaste, not very deep but enjoyable.
I really liked the camerawork, I was so overwhelmed by it. It’s not the firsttime I’ve seen such abstractness, of using shapes and movements. It’s likethe visual music of the early 20th century. The statement about using VR
devices got me thinking.

Wegenast: It looks like a traditional stop-motion work, I didn’t see any VR technology
used, maybe it’s invisible? It looks like an abstract film from the 1920s or
1940s-1960s, and there is this Japanese tradition of abstract films.
Yu:

Aesthetically it doesn’t break new ground.

Wegenast: I didn’t get the idea about the title.

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Yu:

I think it’s a play on words. In Japanese there is no distinction between ‘L’and ‘R’, so ‘fly’ and ‘fry’ can sound the same in Japanese, and at one point
you can see the freed mochi being fried in the pan, and sometimes they fly.

Ng:

In the first round, this work quickly stood out. Although the story is not strong,
the technique and imagery leave a strong impression. This is a very pureanimation, and showcases the many possibilities of animation. The technique
is very solid.

Fan:

The next work is 21³.

Lo:

Technically, it’s very nice CG. The design of the model and rendering arevery nice. One weak point is the story itself, within the 4-minute duration, it
does not leave a deep impression about the story but the visual is memorable.
I don’t know why the artist used line drawing, but the contrast is too big. The
real world is so detailed but the flashback is such simple line drawing, it
doesn’t help a lot.

Liu:

This work is like a film trailer or promotion. As a short film, it is not complete.
I will not consider this work for awards.

Wegenast: It’s like an opening scene for a computer game; I didn’t like the story. A film
can deal with violence, which is an important topic, but this is just a teenage
fantasy or romanticization of violence, showing some weird idea about
sexuality; unfortunately, too many games are like this. What could have beeninteresting is the change of technique from 3D game engine-based animation
to drawn animation, but it didn’t make any sense why they used it. I normallylike hybrid films, but this one doesn’t add anything to it.
Yu:

To me it’s more like an exercise in technique, obviously very good techniqueof real-time render. Among all the works, this one has the highest level ofcraftmanship and is the most high-tech, but it seems like there is a big backstory to this film that has not been successfully conveyed. I’m not sure if
there are other short films that are part of this imaginary world, I wish there
were.

Wegenast: I’m sure the artist will make it in the animation industry, we don’t have toworry about his career!
Ng:

I feel the work is like a showreel or a pilot. Many young animators strive forthis kind of visual effect. Perhaps 10 or 20 years ago this kind of work was
attractive. Nowadays, 3D animation has become very common, and so this5

work appears redundant. It reflects that many production teams are still keenon this kind of visual effect, but there are too many of this kind of works
around.
Fan:

The next work is Subway Commute.

Yu:

I really like this one. Every time I see it, I see something new, some new way
to interpret it. The story about living in the city doing a very boring job isnothing new, it’s been talked about quite a lot, but the presentation of thestory is amazing to me. I like how he uses the briefcase with the hiring sign
popping up to indicate someone has lost their jobs, I also like the spinningcamera and you see the mirror reflections of himself, which seems to indicate
a timeline of him looking backward and forward about his own life. I also
like the acting and the way the artist uses this background infographics to tellstories. To me, every aspect is really well done.

Lo:The artform and design remind me of the old animations from Eastern Europe,with simple graphics and colors conveying a lot of metaphors and messages.
I think the work is a little too typical for me, I think I have to watch it a few
more times to understand what he wants to express. Visually, it’s interesting,but a little hard to digest. It’s a nice and unique work.

Liu:

I like this work. It talks about the feelings and anxiety between people. The
duration could have been shorter so as to express much stronger feelings. The
pace is a bit too loose.

Lo:The last scene when he goes up the elevator, it does not have much of an
impact.

Liu:

There should be a climax.

Ng:

Some of the over 100 entries also talk about subways, but this one hits theright note. I got lost for a little bit in the middle, and every time I feel I missed
something or did not finish watching it because it is hard to digest. However,
the artform and design are attractive.

Wegenast: I also liked it, this Eastern European style, abstract but still figurative typeof animation. I watch a lot of films about metros and being alone in the bigcity. The aspect of manipulation is a bit simplistic with the wires. Still, it isoriginal, I have seen a lot worse films on this topic. I also got lost quite often,
which I liked. It’s a good film, but it struggles with the timing. Some of theimageries are very original, but in general, it could be more precise and better6executed. We can keep it for discussion, but it’s not my number one.
Fan:

The next work is Bye Bye, Comrade.

Liu:This work can be compared to Kin’s Hair and learn from it on how to fashiona more powerful story about history and reflecting a historical period. The
subject matter is not bad but too superficial with too many formal symbolic
elements. The subject matter seems deep but the expression is too simplistic
and shallow. It is not a good work.

Lo:The art direction is not that good, even with the use of traditional Communist
symbols and setting, but when you look at it, it is quite rough in some ways.
The samples that the director uses are not impressive.

Wegenast: There are no subtitles. I think it’s a German production, the lady has been
living for a while in Germany, and the work is a reflection of that in that it
has a lot of nostalgia. For me as a German person, the film is about
Communist China and all these signs, about things that are lost and trying todeal with it. But the film struggles a lot with the timing and storytelling. As
an exotic perspective it is interesting, the comrade who died must be a famous
person.
Lo:

He’s a fictional character.

Wegenast: It’s very convincing. There are some nice moments like when she waschanging channels on the TV and all channels (are the same). The film is too
long, I like the artwork because it was rough and hand-made, I understandthe character’s childhood feelings because this propaganda on every channel
gets on your nerves, and she resists even though she understands that she has
to be sad and has to cry. In general, it’s not a good piece; there are niceimageries that are done in a special way, but she doesn’t reach her target.
Perhaps it’s meant for a European audience, or someone from East Germany
who knows this world. It’s superficial because she could have done much
more with the psyche of the girl, and the parents are just standing there withno interaction and it’s just about her, and she is like an autistic isolated fromthe rest of the world, which is a problem with the storytelling rather than her
idea.
Yu:

I was not quite sure when she climbs up the ladder and there is a pair of feetseen from below, I don’t know whose feet they are.

Lo:

It’s quite confusing.
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Yu:

I didn’t know they were feet until the second or third time I watched the film.
After she climbs down, she goes back to the classroom and starts to cry, I
was moved by that scene. She is crying with the other girls, but she has adifferent reason for crying. I think that’s interesting. I also like the subtle
elements in the story, like the parents listening to the stock market the next
day after the funeral, which is subtle and interesting commentary on thesituation.

Wegenast: I have a question about the announcement at the end.
Lo:

At the end, when the girl goes home after crying, the father turns on the radio
and he is not listening to news about the dead comrade but listens to stock
market news. That’s the punchline, that the mourning is just for one day.

Ng:

I think films and animations have a special charm, and sometimes works are
more attractive than people. In the first round, this point had already beenbrought up. Some jury members were touched by this film, and this is one of
the inexplicable charms of this film. I quite like the hand-made feel of thisfilm, but on the whole, it is like a school graduation project. Some parts areundeniably detailed and worth appreciation.

Liu:

How old is the artist?

Wegenast: It’s a German production, so I’ve seen the film before. Its style looks like afilm from Cologne Art Academy, but I don’t know her personally.
Liu:

In China, many people born in the 1980s are fond of making works about
history, but this history is told to them by other people rather than their own
personal history. The history depicted in this film certainly does not comefrom the artist’s own childhood, so it is understandable that it is superficial.

Wegenast: In the late 1980s to nowadays, this type of state-driven mourning has existed.
If she was born in 1980s, this could have fitted.
Liu:

The story in this film takes place in the 1960s.

Fan:

The next work is Infidelity.

Lo:

This is some kind of melodrama, but maybe due to the length, the ending isa bit rushed. It can be longer and more detailed. The art is very unique, andthe color and lines are nice.
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Wegenast: It’s well executed, and the style has a bit of originality, it has a graphics stylewith minimalist elements, but I think it goes too much in the anime style. I’m
not sure if I like the plot; the female wants to get free from the landlord, thereis this power relations and her lover is also betraying her, but what is the final
meaning of going back to the landlord and staying with him because she’s
too naïve and realizes she also getting betrayed? It could be some kind ofmale fantasy. The message is a little strange if the landlord is the good guy.
When it comes to the style, there are some nice elements.
Liu:

This story can be developed into an animated TV or online drama, but forthis competition, it is not artistic enough. It is a commercial film, and I won’t
recommend it for awards.

Ng:

I have paid attention to the works of this director for some time. His team isno large, and I believe that it is very difficult for them to operate. Watching
this work on the big screen, the color and details are solid, many things suchas the garbage bins are well-designed and very thoughtful. It is very rare
nowadays to be able to persevere creating works of a consistent style. The
duration of this work is too short. I agree with other judges that this work canbe part of a series. The characters are very complicated and not welldeveloped in the film’s 6-minutes running time. The work is very impressiveon the big screen.

Wegenast: It’s a good idea. It’s a commercial work, but I don’t have problems with it.
If it was a feature film, this style will be very original. This is more like apilot for a feature film. In the end, the message is the problem for me.
Yu:

I can’t avoid comparing his other works to this one, which feels like a smallpart of a longer film. I agree with Ulrich in that I am not sure about themessage, it’s kind of confusing. We know how the story happens, but the
motivations of the characters are a little bit lacking; we’re not sure what they
actually want. I like the style, there is some humor in the design of the scenes,
like the Hong Kong-style garbage bins, the logo of the west gate, which is a
swear word in Chinese.

Wegenast: The film itself is very serious, though, so the funny design elements don’t
really fit.
Yu:

His other works are more complete, but in this film, he is trying something
new with the humor in the design.

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Fan:

The next work is The Last Day of Summer.

Ng:

At first, I liked The Lighthouse and also Kin’s Hair. Watching The Last Day
of Summer on the big screen, I felt the film had a certain power and I wasable to identify with the three kids. Even though the craftsmanship and form
are not very complete, I liked the work as a whole.

Lo:

The idea is nice, about some trauma from childhood, but I think it’s a little
bit too short. What happens to the third boy, we want to know more. Was heinjured? There is too much space for imagination. It can be a more powerfulfilm if there was more, now it suddenly stops.

Wegenast: The film has potential, but it should be developed further. You want to know
more about the psychology of the three boys. It’s a pity it’s too short. You
want to know why this boy goes to the fireworks, and the conflict is too little.
If there was more time, like 10 minutes, it could be developed better.
Lo:

This film reminds me of one of my old films, my story is about a schoolboy
on the first day of summer, he meets a dying old man who asks the boy tobring his dead body to the sea. The boy brings the body to the sea in secretover a few nights. That’s my story, which is more impressive!

Liu:

I don’t know at which festival I have seen this film.

Lo:

I like the film, but it’s too short.

Yu:

It’s kind of rough and obviously too short. I didn’t like it the first time, I
thought it was ordinary, but I watched it again and I saw something there.

Wegenast: Maybe for a Special Mention, because then you can say the work has
potential and that it is in the right direction…
Ng:

I want to add that some works improved with repeated viewing, while somelost points. This work had improved with repeated viewing.

Fan:

The last work is Kin’s Hair.

Lo:

This film is very Hong Kong, from the design, atmosphere, character design,dialogue. In 6 minutes, it talks about the transition of Hong Kong over 20
years. It is very moving, mixing laughter with tears.

Liu:

I like this work the most for its black humor; it is romantic with a faint sense10

of sorrow. Because of these feelings, its small production flaws are forgivable.
Wegenast: The film is interesting in that it is also a journey for me, at the beginning I
was unsure, I didn’t like the style of the characters too much, but the film
really develops. It is very rich and a very romantic story when the love of hislife comes back, and he realizes we are all human beings and there is nothing
we can glorify. Also, the transformation of his body and the transformationof the city, indeed, for me as a westerner these aspects are quite important,like the protests, all these things are implemented in 6 minutes is quite
astonishing. It’s like a feature film, it’s poetic, political, social, romantic, it’svery rich. I don’t like the style too much, but the complexity is really great.
Yu:

I like this film very much. The artists are very young, they just graduatedfrom university, which is a surprise to me, because the film is so rich with
Hong Kong history of the 90s.

Lo:

They did a lot of research, I think.

Wegenast: There is a lot of wisdom, too. A very mature work, as if made by a 50-yearold!
Yu:

It resonated with me a lot, I think it resonates with many Hong Kong people.

Ng:

I liked the film a lot when I first saw it. There is a scene that left a strong
impression, it’s when they meet each other again in a taxi at the end; it’sunforgettable. The use of hair to transverse the whole work is a solid
technique and I think the work is commendable and the story resonates with
Hong Kong people, and the style is also distinctive. Even though the work
did not improve with repeated viewing, it is stronger than other works. At
first I liked The Lighthouse and Kin’s Hair, but after watching them again
carefully, I think that Kin’s Hair is better.

Fan:

Are we ready to nominate the prizes?

Yu:

We can have more than one Special Mention?

Liu:

Do we write down our choices now or discuss first?

Fan:

We can discuss, or you can state your preferences now.

Liu:

I choose Kin’s Hair for Gold Award.

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Wegenast: It seems clear what is the main award, right? Everybody likes Kin’s Hair alot? It seems very Hong Kong-based but also very universal, a story about anormal guy and lost love. It’s the richest and most complex work.
Yu:

I am debating between this and Subway Commute. Peter mentioned thatsome films get better the more times you watch it, and there are films that
don’t give you more with repeated viewing. To me, Subway Commute gaveme more, whereas Kin’s Hair is very strong and complete, but I didn’t getanything more the next time I watch it. With Subway Commute, I keep
having some new interpretation.

Lo:

I’ve watched Kin’s Hair more than 5 times, every time I watch it, I enjoy it
and it moves me, I don’t know why. I love the narration, you can feel many
messages behind it.

Liu:Let’s vote for Gold Award now, majority wins.

Ng:

I vote for Kin’s Hair, too.

Liu:

For Silver Award, I vote for Subway Commute.

Yu:

I’ll go for Subway Commute.

Wegenast: For me, Subway Commute has some strong elements but also some very
weak ones. The timing is off, but I’ll go with it. It’s a matter of diplomacy,
but personally I like Toxic Relationship, even though it also has timing issues.
Maybe I can keep it for Special Mention because the artist is really talented
and the imagery is more original than Subway Commute.
Yu:

Everyone should pick the one they like, and then you vote and argue.

Wegenast: So, I choose Toxic Relationship for Silver Award.
Lo:My choice is Toxic Relationship.

Fan:

Let’s have some more discussion and see how Peter decides. Now we havetwo votes each for Toxic Relationshipand Subway Commute.

Ng:

Between the two, I pick Toxic Relationship. I think it is better.

Wegenast: Maybe Toxic Relationship is too simple, but it’s important to have thefemale perspective. Not only because of the female perspective, I’m also12

convinced it’s a strong work. I’d rather have a work that’s too short than too
long. Subway Commute is for sure one of the strongest works.
Fan:So, Toxic Relationshipwill get the Silver Award. Now for Special Mention.

Lo:

Subway Commute.

Wegenast: I have three nominations for Special Mention.
Lo:

Subway Commute and The Lighthouse.

Wegenast: I choose Subway Commute, imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura, which I
think is very special even though it is traditional, and The Last Day of
Summer.
Yu:

I vote for Subway Commute.

Fan:

It’s best to have one Special Mention, but if it is too difficult, we can also talkabout having two.

Wegenast: I think it is important to have Subway Commute as Special Mention. If there
was just one, I would choose it, if there were two, I would include imai / Fly
feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura. Now that we have two Hong Kong films winningawards, it would be a good signal to choose a film from Taiwan and one fromJapan. Both are very original but lacking a few things.
Lo:

My choices are Subway Commute and The Lighthouse, but I am okay withimai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura.

Ng:

I choose The Lighthouse and The Last Day of Summer.

Liu:

I also choose Subway Commute.

Fan:

Shall we confirm that the first Special Mention is Subway Commute. How
many votes on this film?

(There are 4 votes.)
Fan:

Let’s decide if we should have a second one.

Wegenast: We should have a variety of styles.

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Fan:

For the second Special Mention, the nominations are The Lighthouse, imai
/ Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura and The Last Day of Summer.

Wegenast: We have to vote.
Fan:

Okay. The Lighthouse.

(There are 2 votes. From Lo and Peter)Fan:imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura.

(There are 2 votes. Form Wegenast and Liu)Fan:

The Last Day of Summer.

(There is 1 vote.)
Wegenast: We have to vote between The Lighthouse and imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho
Nakamura.
Fan:It’s Ka ho’s choice. Between the two, what do you say?

Yu:

I will pick imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura. As a festival, I thinkincluding different genres sends a good signal.

Fan:

The second Special Mention is imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura.

The 24th ifva Awards - Animation Category Award Winners
Gold Award
Kin’s Hair
Chan Kwun-chung, Wong Tsz-yin, Chang See-wan (Hong Kong)
Silver Award
Toxic Relationship
Step Cheung (Hong Kong)
Special Mention
Subway Commute
Redic Hsu (Taiwan)
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imai / Fly feat. 79, Kaho Nakamura
Baku Hashimoto (Japan)

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