The 21st annual Sommets du cinéma d'animation came to a close on Sunday with a much anticipated awards ceremony. This year's strong competition demonstrated the dynamism and quality of Canadian animation. Just before the announcement of the winners, composer Normand Roger received the René-Jodoin Award in front of friends and long-time collaborators. This edition was exceptional with a record number of visitors and an audience that is as enthusiastic as ever about animated films. The outdoor screenings, new this year, were also a great success!

OFFICIAL COMPETITION
The jury for the Official Competition, in charge of awarding six prizes, was composed of Jason Béliveau, founder and director of programming at Circuit Beaumont in Quebec City and editor-in-chief of Séquences magazine; Illeana Dana Darie, filmmaker and professor of 3D animation and traditional animation at the École NAD/UQAC; Julia Rosenberg, founder of the production company January Films, in Toronto; Delphine Selles-Alvarez, in charge of film programming at FIAF (French Institute Alliance Française), in New York; and Joël Vaudreuil, filmmaker, musician and multidisciplinary artist.

RAOUL-BARRÉ GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST CANADIAN STUDENT FILM
The prize is accompanied by a $2,000 scholarship offered by the Raoul-Barré Foundation.

For the novelty of its disturbing strangeness, for the impression it leaves of being at the forefront of a genre often trapped in its codes. Let's face it: this short film made the jury members very uncomfortable... And that's a credit to it! For these reasons, the first-ever RAOUL-BARRÉ AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN STUDENT FILM goes to Bedroom People by Vivien Forsans.

BEDROOM PEOPLE by Vivien Forsans

GUY-L. COTÉ AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN ANIMATED FILM
The award is accompanied by a $2,000 grant from Mrs. Nancy Coté.

For the subtle expressiveness of the main character, for the lighting and for the design of the environment and the secondary characters integrated in harmonious balance with the enigmatic story, which leaves room for interpretation to the spectator, while being accomplished.

RETURN TO HAIRY HILL by Daniel Gies

SPECIAL JURY AWARD - École NAD-UQAC
The prize is accompanied by a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the École NAD-UQAC among the professional films in the official competition.

The jury was very touched by a film that has fun playing with forms and aesthetics, sometimes naive, sometimes abstract. The director manages to unify everything and give us a beautiful, fluid, unique and touching film. In a sincere way, she succeeds in conveying her emotions to us, and this is why the Jury Prize is given to Two One Two by Shira Avni.

TWO ONE TWO by Shira Avni

SPECIAL MENTION IN THE CANADIAN COMPETITION
*For the distinction of Archer Pechawis' screenplay, a story of loss told with humour, allegory and moments of deep sensitivity perfectly timed; and for the direction of Terril Calder, whose conceptual use of mixed media, priceless reaction shots and deftly timed tone create a cinematic world in which realism and magic, pain and laughter, coexist in equal measure.

A BEAR NAMED JESUS by Terril Calder

BEST CHARACTER AWARD
For removing a few wrinkles (a lot of them!) from a young woman over 100 years old, for the delicate and poetic animation that highlights the vivacity and humor of this extraordinary character in this intergenerational road trip.

MADELEINE by Raquel Sancinetti

AWARD FOR BEST MUSIC VIDEO
*For its ability to evoke the atmosphere of a song without restriction and to deepen its aura of strangeness and mystery. For its thousand changing faces that have both worried and bewitched us, and that we will not soon forget.

PLUMB by Maude Arès

AWARD FOR BEST EDUCATIONAL OR COMMISSIONED FILM
For its breathtaking way of combining several animation techniques in a maelstrom that is both offbeat and coherent, and for its resolutely noisy sound work, illustrating the punk and unpredictable nature of this exceptional animation festival.

OIAF 2022 Signal Film by Winston Hacking

AUDIENCE AWARD

MADELEINE by Raquel Sancinetti

2023 PITCHS COMPETITION AWARD
The jury was composed of Justine Baillargeon, director of distribution at h264; Jocelyne Perrier, animation film specialist and David Pierrat, producer and founder of the production company Parce Que films.

Presented in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, La Caisse Desjardins de la Culture ($1,000 cash grant) and h264 (distribution and publicity advice worth $1,500).

*For the originality, modernity and coherence of the proposal, for the out-of-the-box billing and for a hell of a pitch!

Vivien Forsans for DON JUAN TO HELL

SPECIAL MENTION
*For the clarity of its point of view, for its singular visual style and for the necessity of its subject matter.

Vincent Bilodeau for THIRTEEN TEENS

RENÉ-JODOIN AWARD 2023
In 2015, the Sommets du cinéma d'animation and the Cinémathèque québécoise created the René-Jodoin Award. This annual award recognizes the exemplary work accomplished by a Canadian animation personality. This year's recipient is the composer Normand Roger.

Normand Roger has worked primarily in the field of animation, for which he has created more than two hundred soundtracks and sound effects over the past fifty years, collaborating on films by Frédéric Back, Regina Pessoa and Co Hoedeman. He has also composed original music for documentaries, feature films, series, commercials, multimedia installations, virtual reality and has produced several themes for television in Canada and the United States.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Animation Film Summits would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Bureau des festivals de la Ville de Montréal, the Government of Quebec, Le Devoir, the National Film Board of Canada, MaBrasserie, the Consulate General of France in Quebec City, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE), acting through the Consulate General of Switzerland in Montreal, SWISS FILMS, the Caisse Desjardins de la Culture, the NAD/UQAC School, the Raoul-Barré Foundation, CTVM, H264, Corus, the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Montreal Stop Motion Festival, Dérapage, the Montreal Comic Book Festival, Goethe-Institut Montréal, MediaFilm, Zone Festival, Hôtel Zéro 1 and Mrs. Nancy Coté for their support.