Thank you for TAFF 2021!

With the traditional ‘Audience favorites’ and ‘Winners’ -screenings, this year’s TAFF, the 5th edition of the festival, came to an end last night. Although organizing TAFF was quite a rollercoaster this year, we managed to create a safe, collective and joyful event in the end!

What we missed in this year’s festive side events, we luckily gained from our extensive and diverse program. This year’s films were exceptionally high quality and we got to enjoy the world-class animation as much with our souls as we did with our eyes. We got to see many touching, charming and amusing films that will tickle our minds even after the festival.Our warmest thank you to all the wonderful animators and filmmakers whose work we were honored to show.

TAFF 2021’s Grand Prix went to Soetkin Verstegen’s stunning Freeze Frame that creates a study of animation, and film, as an artform within it’s freezing narrative. Read more about all the winner films here.

We’d like to thank our judges, the board of Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry, staff and all of our volunteers as well as Rajupaja Oy, Scene – Turku European Film City, Kirjakahvila Turku, AB Dance Company and Finnish Animation Guild for their cooperation.
Thank you Arts Promotion Center Finland, Cultural Committee of Turku, Finnish Cultural Foundation and Pro Manillasäätiö for financial support.
And of course we’d love to thank all of our wonderful festivalgoers, you are what makes TAFF the festival it is!

See you all next year!

28.08.2021

The winners of TAFF 2021 are awarded!

The best films of Turku Animated Film Festival 2021 have been chosen! Altogether six films were awarded; each affected the viewers and judges in a special way.

Grand Prix

Freeze Frame – Soetkin Verstegen

“A spectacular film about film. Deep and beautiful piece, that illuminates our understanding of the world and the meaning of life frame by frame.”

National Competition

Plunger (Karhupumppu) – Lauri Ketonen, Konsta Verta

“The film is at the same time of this world and detached from it. It creates a space-like place where inventive animation tells a lot with less and the sound milieu takes the viewer to the core of events. The film tells the story of breaking the routines in an identifiable manner and asks the fundamental question: is my life crap or am I the crap in my life?”

Best professional film

Precious – Paul Mas

“A touching portrayal of a little child’s desire to belong and the realities of life that the child is forced to absorb. Wonderful, functional character design.”

Best student film

Hide ‘n Seek – Barbora Halířová

“Insightful, magnificent animating and clever narration. The film is a wild merriment of metaphors where children’s game of hide and seek is a masquerade of a whole lifetime.”

Tough Eye Award

Night Bus – Joe Hsieh

“Dramaturgically strong, suspenseful film noir, that powers through all the way to its cathartic end.”

TAFF Junior Award

Gon, the Little Fox – Takeshi Yashiro

“Impressively controlled storytelling in a visually dazzling world, where the masterfully crafted and designed puppets bring the tragic and touching story to life.”

Audience Award

Precious – Paul Mas