Two socially conscious shorts were honored. Her Song, from Dublin studio Radii, won best animated short film; it looks at Ireland’s inglorious history of “mother and baby homes,” in which women who’d had children out of wedlock were institutionalized and often treated awfully. Shergar, directed by Cora McKenna at Denmark’s The Animation Workshop, was named best student film; the protagonist is a street kid fleeing an abusive home.
Her Song (Éabha Bortolozzo, Jack Kirwan)
The Dead Hands of Dublin (Fransisco Rios; Pink Kong Studios, Gorilla Post)
Her Song (Éabha Bortolozzo, Jack Kirwan)
The Dead Hands of Dublin (Fransisco Rios; Pink Kong Studios, Gorilla Post)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the joint-biggest winner of the night was Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers, one of the most high-profile animated features in this year’s awards race. It took home three prizes, for best Irish feature or special, best animation sequence, and best editing. The Kilkenny studio also won two prizes for its animated kids’ series Dorg Van Dango, which is co-produced by Canada’s Wildbrain.
Something Borrowed (Micky Wozny, Andrew St Maur)
Shergar (Cora McKenna)
Wolkwalkers (Maria Pareja; Cartoon Saloon)
Best Music
Best Art Direction and Design
Best Art Direction and Design