14TH WORLD FESTIVAL OF ANIMATED FILMS ENDS

ZAGREB, June 26 (Hina) - The 14th world festival of animated films 'Animafest 2000' ended in Zagreb on Sunday night with an award- giving ceremony and the presentation of awarded films. The Grand Prix went to Canada's Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis for their film "When the Day Breaks." Awards were also presented for other films competing in different categories. These include (unofficial translations) 'Festival' by Italy's Roberto Catani, "Whatever It Takes" by Joanne Quinn from the United States, "At the End of the World" by France's Konstantin Bronzit, "A Village of Idiots" by Eugene Fedorenko and Rosa Newlove and "The Old Man and The Sea" by Alexander Petrov from Canada, and the German film "The Circle of Fire" by Andreas Hykade. The award for the best first film went to Germany's Steffan Schaefler for his film "The Wigmaker". The festival's international jury also awarded seven diplomas, whereas the Croatian Society of Film Critics gave their award to the film "At the End of the World." The festival also included retrospectives of Israeli, Indian and more recent Spanish animated films from the archive of the international association of animated film (ASIFA). A retrospective exhibition was staged by the Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, who won the 'Zagreb 2000' life achievement award. The festival also marked the 50th anniversary of the first Croatian animated film "The Big Rally". Programmes which accompanied the festival also included a lecture on the future of animation by Steve Montal from the United States, and an exhibition of caricatures by Germany's Jochen Ehmann. A selection of films by late Nikola Kostelac and Dusan Vukotic was shown in memory of the two makers of animated films. (hina) rml