During the 10th BLON Animation and Games Festival, which was held in Klaipėda over the weekend, awards were presented to animators from Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and international competition programs, as well as to game developers in the Aware Game Awards.

The four-day festival attracted more than 4,000 visitors. It featured a diverse program of animated films, video games, and virtual reality works. Animation and video game enthusiasts enjoyed numerous workshops and meetings with creators, and a special program for families was organized, which included exclusive film screenings and various creative workshops.

“Over the past decade, the festival has found its place on the Klaipėda region’s events map, and this year we saw great interest from visitors. It is heartening to see a growing audience of families and young people who enthusiastically participated in the festival’s creative activities and attended film screenings,” said Laura Almantaitė, the director of the BLON festival.

Four main awards were presented

In the International Competition Program, 26 short animated films from Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania competed for the title of Best Short Animated Film.

This year’s winner of the International Competition Program was German director Volker Schlecht with his animated work “The Waiting”. The film tells the story of researcher Karen Lips, who lived for several years in a small hut in Costa Rica, observing frogs.

“‘The Waiting’ evokes emotions for a creature we never thought we could feel anything for. The film beautifully combines a scientific approach with stunning aesthetics and a passion for its subject,” said the jury members: Aneta Ozorek, Artistic Director of the “Kaboom” Animation Festival (Netherlands), artist and animation director David O’Reilly (Ireland/USA), and film critic Monika Gimbutaitė (Lithuania).

In addition to the international competition program, the festival also honored Lithuanian and Ukrainian animation creators.

The winner of the Lithuanian animation competition program was director Eglė Davidavičė with her film “The One Who Knows.” The film tells the story of a shy and insecure teenage girl learning to accept herself and see her body in a new light.

“In today’s world, we are learning to accept ourselves, set boundaries, and be respectful and respected. This important message is conveyed in the film through stylish artistic solutions and unpretentious animation,” said the program’s jury members: Anastasiya Verlinska, director of the “Linoleum” festival (Ukraine), artist and animation director Sara Koppel (Denmark), and filmmaker and visual artist Gediminas Šiaulys (Lithuania).

The winner of the Ukrainian animators’ competition program was director Sonia Leliukh with her film “Comma”. The film portrays the resilience of people during war, showing how, despite the impact of war, they engage in everyday tasks in pursuit of normalcy amidst the surrounding chaos.

“Among all the testimonies of war, one particular film stood out. It opened our eyes to the chaos of feeling your homeland under attack. The film’s sensitivity, animation, artistic direction, and personal narrative allowed us to experience what the artist feels,” stated the jury members: Luce Grosjean, head of the “Miyu Distribution” studio (France), Žilvinas Lilas, professor at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne in Germany, and Agata Tracevič, director and animator at “Animatest” (Lithuania).

The BLON festival, together with the Audiovisual works copyright association “AVAKA,” awarded each of the three competition program winners with a €1,000 cash prize.

The festival also awarded the winners of the “Aware Game Awards” video game competition for the second time.

This year, the winner was Latvian developer Vladimir Slav with his game “Peresvet.” The game attempts to explore genocide and the “art” created in its aftermath. It raises the question: if one denies the connection between their creation and the suffering it is based on, does the process of creating “art” then become a game?

The “Aware Game Awards” entries were evaluated by a jury of six members: Adrien Larouzée, head of digital projects at ARTE (France); Angelo Careri, co-founder of “Immersion” studio (France); video game producer Ieva Beneckė (Lithuania); critic, writer, and communications manager Marijam Didžgalvytė (Denmark/UK); game director at “Bird Island” Shalev Moran (Denmark); and performer and songwriter Jurga Šeduikytė (Lithuania).

“‘Peresvet’ is a perfect example of what political art should be: poetic but not sentimental, addressing real events without exploiting them, educational, accessible, brutal, and straightforward. It doesn’t strive to be a perfect game but rather aims to clearly convey its message. Its focus is not on itself but on the issue it discusses. The game ends with a clear call to action and does so quickly, as it is not meant to entertain—it is there to shout loudly,” stated the jury members.

Special Mentions

In addition to the three main competition program awards, three more special BLON festival prizes were presented.

The special award in the International Competition Programme this year went to Finnish director Heta Jäälinoja for her work “Now or I’ll Become a Nun.” In the Lithuanian Animation Programme, the award was given to director Gytis Baranauskas for his work “Mindaugas.” Meanwhile, in the Ukrainian Animation Programme, the special award was presented to director Anastasiia Martyniuk for her animated film “Touch.”.

The BLON festival also presented the Lithuanian Animation Association Award, which is given to an animation creator for their contribution to the Lithuanian animation industry. This year, the award was granted to the founder and director of the BLON festival, Laura Almantaitė.

The festival is funded by the Lithuanian Film Center and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.