VIEW AWARD Contest 2025 Winners
Skwigly
VIEW Conference proudly announces the winners of the VIEW 2025 Award. A nine-member international jury selected the outstanding short animated films based on story, direction, technical proficiency, sound, and uniqueness. VIEW Award accompanied VIEW Conference 2025, the premiere international event in Italy on animation, VFX, games, AI, and more.
“This year we received many technically gorgeous films telling bold stories about impactful environmental, social themes and gender identity and politics,” says Maria Elena Gutierrez, Jury Chair and CEO of VIEW Conference, “with a strong and diverse range of animated films spanning a wide spectrum of artistic styles, techniques, and mediums. All the winning films reflect VIEW Conference’s mandate to present animation in all its forms, whether created through stop-motion, hand-drawn animation, collage, CG, or hybrid approaches.”
“We especially want to recognize the strength of all the prize winners as a group,” adds Dylan Sisson, Jury President and Artist/Designer at Pixar Renderman. The winning films celebrate the work of filmmakers at professional studios, as well as independent productions and student projects. Every film in this year’s program contributed something distinct, and the depth of the line-up is what made the jury’s discussions so engaged. We congratulate all of the filmmakers for their extraordinary work, and for being part of VIEW Award Contest 2025.”
GRAND PRIZE
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls” (“La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles”)
Directors: Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski
Studio: National Film Board of Canada (Producers: Julie Roy, Marc Bertrand and Christine Noël)
Country: Canada
Year: 2025
A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds. “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” was recognized by the VIEW Award 2025 international jury for its exceptional craftsmanship and lasting visual impact.
JURY PRIZE
“Cardboard”
Director: J.P. Vine
Studio: Locksmith Animation (Producer: Michaela Manas Malina)
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 2025
When an overwhelmed single Dad pig moves his piglets into a trailer park, he fears he’s failed his family. But soon his kids create a wildly imaginative game, and Dad has to choose between dwelling in the past or joining them on their adventure.
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (Ex Aequo)
“Hurikán”
Director: Jan Saska
Studio: Last Films
Country: Czech Republic
Year: 2024
Hurikán rushes out to save his favorite beer stand from closure by fetching a new keg to impress the bartender he has a crush on. In a wild Prague district, he faces robbers, cops, and his own thirst.
“Éiru”
Director: Giovanna Ferrari
Studio: Cartoon Saloon (Producer: Cal McLoughlin)
Country: Ireland
Year: 2024
When the water mysteriously disappears from the well in a warrior clan’s village, an intrepid child descends into the belly of the earth to retrieve it.
BEST SHORT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL THEMES (Ex Aequo)
“Rerooted”
Directors: Delphine Coudray, Christian Spurling
Studio: Cardel Entertainment (Producer: Carla Mooney)
Country: Ireland
Year: 2025
A bored warehouse worker’s quest for an enduring legacy, as an animator takes a darkly comedic turn when she signs up for an eco-friendly burial.
“TRASH”
Directors: Gregory Bouzid, Maxime Crançon, Robin Delaporte, Mattéo Durand, Romain Fleischer, Alexis Le Ral, Margaux Lutz, Fannie Vecchie
School: ESMA
Country: France
Year: 2024
In a dark alley, a scrawny rat has no choice but to fight with a pigeon for a small slice of pizza. Without a second thought, they throw themselves in a vertiginous chase from the top to the bottom of the street.
“Bread Will Walk”
Director: Alex Boya
Studio: National Film Board of Canada (Producer: Jelena Popović)
Country: Canada
Year: 2025
A devoted sister races to save her brother, a bread-turned zombie. A mob of hungry living pursues, mouths agape. Streets twist into mazes, reason crumbles. Can love defy appetite?
BEST SHORT WITH SOCIAL THEMES (Ex Aequo)
“Zwermen”
Directors: Janneke Swinkels, Tim Frijsinger
Studio: Spotted Bird, Beast Animation, Murmur Animation
Country: Netherlands
Year: 2025
Piet, an elderly man in a nursing home, finds himself limited in his actions when he suddenly begins to transform into a bird. Although he is still accepted within the group, he feels that it’s time to join a new flock.
“Como Si La Tierra Se Las Hubiera Tragado”
Director: Natalia León
School: ENSAD
Country: France
Year: 2024
Olivia, a young woman living abroad, returns to her home town in Mexico in the hope of reconnecting with her past.
“Susurros”
Directors: Alexandra Pewinski, Marie Lombard, Florian Reignier, Emma Pluchard, Lisa Francillon, Alice Parmentier
Studio: Supinfocom Rubika (Supervisor: Patrick De Carvalho)
Country: France
Year: 2025
From the witch hunts of 17th-century Europe to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States in 2022, Susurros follows the story of two women faced with a pregnancy they did not choose.
CATEGORY AWARDS
BEST STORY
“Autokar”
Director: Sylwia Szkiladz
Studio/Country: Belgium, 2025
In the 1990s, eight-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Her perspective transforms the migratory reality into an initiatory experience.
BEST ENVIRONMENTS
“The Shyness of Trees”
Directors: Jiaxin Huang, Lina Han, Simin He, Bingqing Shu, Sofiia Chuikovska, Maud Le Bras, Loïck Du Plessis D’Argentré
School: Gobelins, France, 2024
Hélène, 40 years old, comes to visit her aging moth