The Japanese anime film ‘Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window’ by Shinnosuke Yakuwa got the Anima Festival award for best animated feature at the 44th Anima Festival (Brussels, 28 February – 9 March 2025). The film adapts the popular Japanese eponymous autobiographical book by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi; it tells the unconventional story of Totto-Chan, a young girl who enrolls at Tomoe school, which prioritizes independence and creativity -at the same time as Japan descends into war.
The film also won the festival’s audience award for feature animation, while the Best Feature Animation for children award was given to the Czech/Slovakian/French film Living Large by Kristina Dufková (CZ/SK/FR)
Special mention for the Hungarian animation documentary ‘Pelican Blue’ by László Csáki, which tells the story of young Hungarians wanting to travel outside their country after the Iron Curtain falls -but have no money to do so.
In the international short film competition, Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy, the French authors of the acclaimed animation shorts ‘Cold Coffee’ (2015) and ‘The Awakening of the Insects’ (2020) scored a Grand Prix for a Short Film victory, with their new, Asia-based film, ‘Sisowath Quay’. A young couple, Nakry and Sothear, meet on the Sisowath quay (Phnom Penh) for their first date. At nightfall, the romance turns into a nightmare when the young girl transforms into a strange creature.
Special jury mention for the Estonian/Lithuanian stop-motion film ‘On Weary Wings Go By’ by Anu-Laura Tuttelberg, the second in her trilogy of seasons
Read: Our interview with Anu-Laura Tuttelberg
Belgian Violette Delvoye (‘Projection on Sofa‘) won the award for Best National Film with ‘The Mud Under My Window’. The queer-themed film premiered at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival (Generation KPlus), and tells the story of 14-year-old Emma, who lives with one of her mothers, Hélène -and idolizes the image of the perfect mother onto the mother who lives away.
The Hungarian film ‘I Would Eat It If I Could;, directed by Bence Hlavay, won the festival’s student competition. Pierre-Luc Granjon’s pinscreen animation film ‘The Night Boots’ won the Best Short Film for Children Award.
This was also the last festival edition for Karin Vandenrydt, the long-time festival programmer and (since 2020) festival directress (along with Dominique Seutin), who now stepped down -in a warm ceremony.
The full list of the 2025 Anima Festival Awards
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
Jury: CHRISTOPHE JANKOVIC (France), JEAN-CHARLES MBOTTI MALOLO (France), MASCHA HALBERSTAD (The Netherlands)
AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Shinnosuke Yakuwa (JP)
“For the classical yet very contemporary approach of a film staged in the past, through the complex point of view of a child, the dexterity of the direction and all the efforts that have been put into the characterization of the young protagonist.”
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
Pelikan Blue by László Csáki (HU)
“For the fact that the film revolves around a very small detail, built as a documentary with a profound sense of dramaturgy that grows throughout the storyline, as well as the characters’ tangibleness.”
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Shinnosuke Yakuwa (JP)
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM FOR CHILDREN COMPETITION
Jury: DELPHINE HERMANS (Belgium), JULIEN DE MAN (Belgium). CHARLIE BELIN (France)
AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FOR CHILDREN
Living Large by Kristina Dufková (CZ/SK/FR)
“An engaging, intimate tale of family ties, aptly portrayed in a funny, unique world.”
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FOR CHILDREN
Hola Frida!by André Kadi and Karine Vézin (CA/FR)
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Jury: SÉBASTIEN SPERER (France), LEVI STOOPS (Belgium), VESSELA DANTCHEVA (Bulgaria)
GRAND PRIX ANIMA 2025 FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM -provided by the Brussels-Capital Region (2.500 €)
Sisowath Quay by Stéphanie Lansaque & François Leroy (FR)
“For the striking visual style, which blends live action and animation, instantly transporting us to a vivid and vibrant part of the world. What begins as a love story turns into a brutal twist of horror that captivates and unsettles the audience.”
BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM
I Would Eat It if I Could by Bence Hlavay (HU)
“On the border between punk and pop, a simple story of boyhood and friendship told in the most chaotic, unusual and funny way possible.”
SPECIAL JURY AWARD
On Weary Wings Go By by Anu-Laura Tuttelberg (EE/LT)
“A film that boldly unfolds between experimental and narrative forms, playing with the fragility of animated figures against the harshness of nature by using challenging analogue techniques such as 16 mm, porcelain and only natural materials, to convey the temporariness of life.”
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Children of the Bird by Júlia Tudisco (HU)
ANIMATED NIGHT AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Do Something by Sofija Zivkovic (DE)
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FOR CHILDREN COMPETITION
Jury: DELPHINE HERMANS (Belgium), JULIEN DE MAN (Belgium), CHARLIE BELIN (France)
AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM FOR CHILDREN
Les Bottes de la nuit by Pierre-Luc Granjon (FR)
“It’s a real gem. We were blown away by the gentleness of the film, its mysterious, sensory quality, its virtuoso direction and its exquisite soundtrack, which plunges us into the sensations of childhood and the night. A true masterpiece.”
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM FOR CHILDREN
Lola and the Sound Piano by Augusto Zanovello (FR/PL/CH)
NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Jury: NOÉMIE MARSILY (France), JACQUES KERMABON (France), MATILDA TAVELLI (Switzerland)
AWARD FOR BEST BELGIAN SHORT FILM provided by Loterie Nationale Loterij (€ 2.500)
The Mud Under My Window by Violette Delvoye (BE/FR)
“We were particularly moved by this film’s intertwining of feelings and points of view, its ability to suggest, its unspoken words and the accuracy of the voices.”
GRAND PRIX FOR BEST SHORT FILM OF THE FÉDÉRATION WALLONIE-BRUXELLES
provided by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (2.500 €)
Silent Panorama by Nicolas Piret (BE)
“For the quality of the design, for the choice of playing a score on the big screen, for the playful attention and sound that the landscape provides.”
AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATION provided by Sabam for Culture (€ 2.500)
Red Meat by Eleni Aerts (BE)
“The Award for Best Animation goes to an animation with a raw, lively and punchy style.”
AUTHOR AWARD provided by the SACD (2.500 €)
The Golden Donkey by Anne Verbeure (BE)
“The Author Award goes to a medieval fantasy with a falsely naive visual charm that resonates with a contemporary reality.”
AWARD FOR BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM provided by Amplo (1.000 €)
Pubert Jimbob by Quirijn Dees (BE)
“For its most surprising creation and its absurdly funny and offbeat way of recounting the completely unexpected adventures of a young man. An extremely promising and special film.”
Dominique Seutin, Karin Vandenrydt
Anima Festival 2025
The 44th edition of the Anima Festival took place from 28 February – 9 March 2025 in Flagey, Brussels.
