SIGGRAPH announced the Computer Animation Festival's Best of Show, Jury Award, Student Prize, Audience Prize, and a special Well Told Fable Prize for SIGGRAPH 2008, the 35th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.
"The caliber of submissions this year was truly phenomenal, which made the jury's job especially difficult," said Jill Smolin, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Entertainment Director. "The winners truly showcase what is possible today and provide a glimpse into what artists can achieve in the future. Really, the only limitation is the imagination."
Award and prize winners were chosen from hundreds of submissions from around the globe, presented by both professional studios and students alike. An expert panel of jury members selected the winners for exemplary use of computer-generated imagery, animation, and storytelling. SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Award Recipient Ken Perlin and a host of industry presenters recognized the nominees and winners in a fun, lively awards ceremony.
The winners are:
Best of Show Winner
Oktapodi
Gobelins, l'ecole de l'image, France
Gobelins' third-year students direct this animated short about two octopi in their comical escape from the grasps of a stubborn and determined restaurant cook.
Best Student Piece Winner
893
Supinfocom, France
These students combine story and style in this tale of honor, tradition, and imagination.
Jury Award Winner
Mauvais Role
Ecole Superieure de Realisation Audiovisuelle, France
This is a tale that shows that you can achieve whatever you want, regardless of the opinions that surround you. Watch as a monster constantly cast in games, finds his perfect job in a game that you'd never choose for him.
Best Well Told Fable Prize
Our Wonderful Nature
Hochschule fur Film und Fernsehen
"Konrad Wolf" Potsdam-Babelsberg
This documentary uses time stretching, film camera work, and creative sound design to tell the story of water shrews in the wild.
Competition screening audiences were able to vote for their favorite selection to win the esteemed Audience Prize. The attendee voters selected the winner to be Oktapodi, the animated short that also won Best of Show.
In 2008, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival expanded into a full-scale film festival that incorporated competition and invited screenings, production studio nights, and discussion panels with filmmakers/artists/producers. It was open to the public for the first time and attracted thousands of Computer Animation Festival attendees.
Since 1999, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been an official qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Best Animated Short Film" award. No fewer than fifteen films from the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for the Academy Award(R) for Best Animated Short.