This year, two prizes at the Leipzig Short Film Festival »kurzsuechtig« went to students of the Faculty of Art and Design at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Fernanda Caicedo received the jury prize for »Animation« for her graduation film »Wind Whisperer«. Elia Zeißig was awarded the Nachwuchspreis of the Filmverband Sachsen for his semester project »Es ist kälter geworden« (It has become colder).
In the six-and-a-half-minute stop-motion film »Wind Whisperer«, viewers first follow a cicada through its natural world, accompanied by off-screen narration. Landing in a flower calyx, the cicada is devoured by the closing bud and reincarnates in the form of nectar drops, whose path the recipients follow through the cinematic world. In this poetic animated film, Ecuadorian author Fernanda Caiceido explores themes such as vitality, longing, extra-dimensional realities, departure and transience. The bachelor's thesis received the 1,000 euro prize in the »Animation« category.
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Elia Zeißig was honoured with the Nachwuchspreis of the Filmverband Sachsen (Saxony Film Association). In his analogue animated short film »Es ist kälter geworden« (It has become colder), he traces an exchange of letters between his grandparents in the GDR. Grandfather Frank was drafted into military service with the Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army). Every day he writes longing letters to his young wife about the lost time of life he has to spend in the barracks. The correspondence testifies to absence, distance and missing. After the death of his grandmother, Elia, together with his grandfather Frank, searches for new ways to deal with these now intensified feelings and loss. This award also comes with a prize money of 1,000 euros.
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The final thesis »Wind Whisperer« was supervised by Wolfgang Kissel, Professor for »"Media Events«, and the artistic associate Franka Sachse. »Es ist kälter geworden« was created as part of the course »Animated Words« under the supervision of the two artistic associates Catalina Giraldo Vélez and Ana María Vallejo Cuartas.
About »kurzsuechtig«
»kurzsuechtig« is a film festival especially for short films from Central Germany. Every year during the five-day festival in Leipzig, the best regional short films from the fields of animation, documentary, fiction and experimental are shown. The most promising sound artists are sought in the competition for film music and sound design. In the Extended Reality category, current projects from the fields of extended reality and 360-degree production will compete. In 2023, »kurzsuechtig« took place for the 20th time. All winning films will be shown in a best-of in numerous cinemas in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia in the coming months.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ana María Vallejo Cuartas, Artistic Associate in the field of »Animation« in the degree programme Media Art and Design, by e-mail at ana.maria.vallejo.cuartas[at]uni-weimar.de.
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