'Les Pieds Dans L’Eau', by Éloïc Gimenez Yoon, and 'Cuatro perros', by Néstor Fernández Núñez, win the Animario 2025 awards
- The project Cuatro perros, by Néstor Fernández Núñez, receives the Animario Award for Animation Production, endowed with 18,000 euros
- Selected from a total of 31 titles from 18 nationalities, Les Pieds Dans L’Eau, by Éloïc Gimenez Yoon, wins the Best Short Film Award, endowed with 5,000 euros
- The jury has also granted a special mention to the Argentine short film El circo de los payasos bigotones, by Ana Comes, Tomás Alzogaray Vanella, and Paz Bloj
- The different sections of the festival were very well received, with particular highlights including Animario PRO, the professional forum, the Mexican animated film programme, and the retrospective dedicated to contemporary Slovenian animation
Animation filmmakers Éloïc Gimenez Yoon and Néstor Fernández Núñez are the winners of the eighth edition of Animario, the International Festival of Contemporary Animation of Madrid, organised by the Area of Culture, Tourism and Sport and held from 11 to 14 December, once again based at Cineteca Madrid.
The International Short Film Competition was open to animated films of any nationality, with a running time of under 30 minutes, that explored any form of animation in a creative way. This section included 31 titles from 18 different countries, selected from 263 short films submitted to the 2025 call.
The Animario 2025 Best Animated Short Film Award, endowed with 5,000 euros, was awarded to Éloïc Gimenez Yoon for his film Les Pieds Dans L’Eau (France, 2024). The international jury, made up of art director and film curator Igor Prassel (Slovenia); director, screenwriter, and animator Irene Iborra (Spain); and director, producer, and animator Juan Medina (Mexico), unanimously granted the award to what they described as “an intimate and delicate story that also resonates on a universal level, one in which we can all recognise ourselves at some point. A very simple yet powerful way of speaking about how complex and fascinating love and memory can be, supported by a visual minimalism that amplifies the evocative power of the narrative”.
In addition, the competition jury decided to award a special mention to another short film, El circo de los payasos bigotones (Argentina, 2025), by Ana Comes, Tomás Alzogaray Vanella, and Paz Bloj, “for conveying, in a poetic and personal way, the trauma of dictatorships in the Americas, reminding us, through a chilling mix of sadness and innocence, of what happens when we disconnect from our humanity”.
The Animario Award for Animation Production, endowed with 18,000 euros, was awarded to Cuatro perros, by Néstor Fernández Núñez. The jury, composed of director and animator Carla Pereira; director, screenwriter, and animator Guillermo García Carsí; and screenwriter, director, and animation producer Nuria González Blanco, highlighted that the project “addresses contemporary crises with naturalness and delicacy through a surreal premise that requires a suspension of disbelief, avoiding grandiloquence and aesthetic artifice while embracing fragility. It turns the intimate into the universal, doing so with genuine tenderness, clarity, precision, and a strong sense of humour. It does not preach or dramatise; it is tender without being manipulative and critical without being defeatist”.
The Animario awards aim to encourage creation and recognise creative talent, artistic risk, and the dedication that this form of cinema entails, while also supporting animation filmmakers committed to quality and creative innovation. Curated by animation specialist Carolina López, this eighth edition of the festival placed a special focus on Mexican animation through the programme México, ¡viva la vida!, in collaboration with the Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE) and thanks to the Mexican Animation Archive.
Animario consolidates its position as a leading animation festival in Spain
Organised by Cineteca Madrid, with the collaboration of AC/E PICE and Madrid Film Office, over four days Cineteca and Matadero Madrid opened their doors to Animario audiences, who chose to experience on the big screen the most innovative and surprising programming from the national and international animation scene, enjoy the all-ages screenings and workshops of Animario en familia, and take part in the professional talks and meetings of Animario PRO.
More information and contact:
comunicacion@mataderomadrid.org