Quirino Awards Unveil Finalists For 4th Edition

The Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards have revealed the finalists for their fourth edition. The awards, which honor animation from Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, will be held on May 29 in the Spanish city of La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife.

The 265 submitted works have been whittled down to 24 finalists across nine categories. The Spanish sci-fi short Wayback, directed by Carlos Salgado, has the most nominations of any work: three in all. Several works picked up two nominations: Alberto Vázquez’s Annecy-winning short Homeless Home, Germán Acuña’s feature Nahuel and the Magic Book, Alexandra Ramires’s short Tie, and Bernardita Ojeda’s series Petit, which has been nominated for an International Emmy.

Spain, which submitted more projects than any other country, leads the nominations with 11. Mexico and Argentina come next (6 each), with Mexico accounting for three of the four finalists for best feature. Another notable finalist is Memories for Sale, which is up for best school short: it is the first work from Costa Rica ever to get to this stage at the Quirinos.

The ceremony will pay tribute to Juan Padrón, the pioneering Cuban cartoonist and animation director who died last year. The organizers are also planning to hold, on May 27–29, an in-person edition of the co-production and business forum that normally accompanies the awards. Last year, the Quirino Awards and Forum were hosted virtually due to the pandemic.

Here is the full list of finalists:

Best Ibero-American Animation Feature Film

• Xico’s Journey — directed by Eric Cabello Díaz. Produced by Cristina Pineda Antúnez (Mexico)
• A Costume for Nicholas — directed by Eduardo Rivero. Produced by Fotosíntesis Media, co-production with Péek Paax (Mexico)
• Cranston Academy: Monster Zone — directed by Leopoldo Aguilar. Produced by Ánima (Mexico, co-production with U.K.)
• Nahuel And the Magic Book — directed by Germán Acuña Delgadillo. Produced by Carburadores, co-production with Levante Films and Punkrobot Animation Studio (Chile, co-production with Brazil)

Best Ibero-American Animation Series

• Count On Me — directed by Andrés Lieban and Alessandro Monnerat. Produced by 2DLab (Brazil)
• Petit season two — directed by Bernardita Ojeda. Produced by Pájaro, co-production with Pakapaka, Señal Colombia, and Non Stop (Chile, co-production with Argentina and Colombia)
• I, Elvis Riboldi — directed by Javier Galán and Raphaël Lamarque. Produced by Peekaboo Animation, co-production with Watch Next Media, Wuji House, Insomne Animation Studio, and Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (Spain, co-production with France)
• The Zurfs — directed by Alex Cervantes. Produced by Hampa Studio and Gallego Bros, co-production with À Punt Mèdia (Spain)

Best Ibero-American Animation Short Film

• Tie — directed by Alexandra Ramires. Produced by Bando à Parte and Bap Animation Studios, co-production with Providences (Portugal, co-production with France)
• Homeless Home — directed by Alberto Vázquez. Produced by Uniko and Autour de Minuit (Spain, co-production with France)
• Roberto — directed by Carmen Córdoba González. Produced by Carmen Córdoba González (Spain)

Best Ibero-American Animation School Short Film

• La Bestia — directed by Ram Tamez (Mexico), Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt, and Marlijn Van Nuenen. Gobelins l’Ecole de l’Image (France)
• Memories for Sale — directed by Manuel Lopez. Universidad Veritas (Costa Rica)
• The Return of the Waves — directed by Alejandra Guevara Cervera (Mexico), Manon Cansell, Edward Kurchevsky, Francisco Moutinho de Magalhães (Portugal), and Hortense Mariano. Gobelins l’Ecole de l’Image (France)

Best Ibero-American Animation Commissioned Film

• “Pixelatl 2020” — directed by Francisco Zamudio. Produced by Exodo Animation Studios (Mexico)
• “Routes” — directed by Alejandro Imondi. Produced by Osa Estudio (Argentina)
• “Stormzy” — Superheroes, directed by Taz Tron Delix. Produced by 2 Veinte (Argentina, co-production with U.K.)

Best Ibero-American Animation for Video Game

• Adore — developed by Cadabra Games (Brazil)
• GYLT — developed by Tequila Works (Spain)
• The Antimatter Kid — developed by Cosmic Brew Studios (Argentina)

Best Visual Development of Ibero-American Animation Work

• Tie — produced by Bando à Parte and Bap Animation Studios, co-production with Providences (Portugal, co-production with France)
• Petit season two — produced by Pájaro, co-production with Pakapaka, Señal Colombia, and Non Stop (Chile, co-production with Argentina and Colombia)
• Wayback — produced by User T38 (Spain)

Best Animation Design of Ibero-American Animation Work

• Homeless Home — Produced by Uniko and Autour de Minuit (Spain, co-production with France)
• Nahuel and the Magic Book — Produced by Carburadores, co-production with Levante Films and Punkrobot Animation Studio (Chile, co-production with Brazil)
• Umbrellas — produced by Bígaro Films and Moukda Production (Spain, co-production with France)
• Wayback — produced by User T38 (Spain)

Best Sound Design and Original Music of Ibero-American Animation Work

• Alebrijes — produced by María Posada Mylott, Luis Salas, Purapost, and Guateque Cine (Colombia)
• Loop — produced by Uniko (Spain, co-production with Argentina)
• Wayback — produced by User T38 (Spain)

Images at top, left to right: “Nahuel and the Magic Book,” “Wayback”