Animated Wolfie Wins the National Competition, special mention goes to Orla and Better Man

A total of fifteen Czech films of various genres and forms were presented in the National Competition of the 20th edition of Pragueshorts, selected by the programming team from nearly 150 submissions.

The main prize of the section went to the animated film Wolfie by director Philippe Kastner, about a perfectionist illustrator who accidentally creates a little wolf with an ink nose. The film is nominated for the Czech Lion for Best Animated Film and the Magnesia Award for Best Student Film. “Jury was touched by the classic style of animation. It is a film about the power of art and creation which allows us to build new universes full of open doors,” said Polish dramaturg and film festival organiser Konrad Głąbek, French producer Guillaume Dreyfus, and Finnish producer Sari Volanen, who served on this year’s National Competition jury. The award is accompanied by a financial prize of EUR 2,000 and a voucher for sound and image post-production services.

The jury also granted two Special Mentions. “We salute the cleverness of the approach on the subject of the masculinity, point of view of the documentarist and achievement of the crafting of the animation” the jury stated about the animated documentary Better Man by director Eliška Jirásková, which takes viewers on a light-hearted visit into the distinctive world of bodybuilding. The film had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The feminist rap fairytale Orla by director Marie Lukáčová, which had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, was praised by the jury: “For the artistic courage, energy, craziness and freedom of cinematic choices. It was the first time when jury saw the medieval rap musical with feminist approach.”

The films Wolfie and Better Man will be available online from March 1 to 22 as part of the festival’s online programme on the streaming platform KVIFF.TV.