TAAF 2015 Announces Grand Prix for the Competition Section. The Grand Prix in the Animated Feature Film Competition went to Ireland's "Song of the Sea"

The Grand Prix and the Best Film in the "Competition Section" were announced at the Tokyo Animation Awards Festival (TAAF) 2015 awards ceremony held on Sunday, March 22, 2015.

TAAF is an international animation film festival that aims to promote the emerging animation industry. TAAF's Competition section is for animation films completed after January 1, 2013, which have not yet been released in Japan, and is open to both professional and amateur filmmakers. This year, there were 21 entries in the Feature Length Animation Division and 21 in the Short Animation Division. This year, 21 films were submitted in the Feature Animation Division and 1206 films from over 60 countries and regions were submitted in the Short Animation Division.

The Grand Prix in the Animated Feature Film Competition was awarded to "Song of the Sea" by Irish director Tom Moore. The film tells the story of a young boy, Ben, and his sister, Sawarth, "the last of the seals," who embark on a magical journey to an ancient magical world that is disappearing in order to return home by the sea. The film is based on an Irish myth about a seal that lives in the sea and becomes a human being on land.

The Excellence Award went to "MUNE" by French directors Alexandre Heboyan and Benoit Philippon. This is a 3D animation using the latest 3DCG technology. It is a stylish and slightly sad love story about a moon guardian, a sun guardian, and a candle that falls in love with the moon guardian.

The Grand Prix in the short animation category went to "Mi ne mozem zhit bez kosmosa" (English title: "We can't live without cosmos.") directed by Konstantin Blonget of Russia. The 15-minute, 20-second film tells the story of two astronauts who dream of becoming astronauts, and how they work hard in their daily training to make their dream come true together. The Excellence Award went to "Bang bang!" by French director Dejulien Pissarro and "Beach Flags" by Sarah Saidan, also from France.

The Special Jury Prize went to "My Stuffed Granny," an animated short film by British director Effie Pappa, and the Audience Award was given to "The Fox of Shichigorosawa," directed by Chun Sugihara and produced by a Japanese director working with the Ainu people. The following is a list of the Grand Prix films selected by the jury.

The following are the comments of the jury members on the Grand Prix films.

Song of the Sea
The jury members all agreed that "Song of the Sea" is a wonderfully well-balanced film. The film is a very well-balanced film, in the opinion of all the jurors. The tempo of this film changes between the first and second parts of the scenario, but the opinions were divided into two groups: "The way the delicate brotherhood and human relationships are depicted is excellent" and "The climax and action scenes in the second half were the highlight of the film. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the audience thinks of this film. On a personal note, it was the first movie in a long time that made me honestly cry.
(Hiromi Seki, Planning and Development Supervisor, Planning and Sales Division, Toei Animation Co.)

Mi ne mozem zhit bez kosmosa
This film, with its stylish screenplay and adult sense of humor, actually shows an exceptional ability in filmmaking. Every single cut is wonderful. Each character is full of individuality in a simple expression. The film will keep you laughing and on the edge of your seat all the way to the ending. It is an animation that leaves you with a warm feeling after watching it.
(Taku Furukawa, animation artist and president of the Animation Association of Japan)

Song of the Sea
(C) Cartoon Saloon, Melusine Productions, The Big Farm Superprod, Norlum

MUNE
(C) 2014 Onyx Films ? Orange Studio - Kinology

Mi ne mozem zhit bez kosmosa
(C) "Melnitsa" animation studio and "The CTB film company". Both are production companies for my film.