‘Little Amélie’ Adds Another Major Win At Manchester Animation Festival, ‘Sulaimani’ Takes Best Short, Cartoon Saloon Honored

Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), the UK’s only Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying animation festival, revealed the winners of its 2025 international competition and Industry Excellence Awards on Thursday night at HOME Manchester.

Bolstering an already strong resume heading into awards season, Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han’s Little Amélie or the Character of Rain was picked as the best feature at this year’s MAF by the competition jury, which explained:

It was a unanimous decision by the jury who were all blown away by the originality and creativity of this film. We were transported by the tender and heartwarming story of family, seen from the point of view of the two year old girl. There was a real cohesion within the film from the art direction, animation, voice performances, music and sound design that came together beautifully in this unique and moving feature.

This year’s Oscar-qualifying best short award went to Vinnie Ann Bose’s mixed-format immigration story Sulaimani, of which the jury said:

This short film explores the cultural nuances, societal expectations and internal conflict of leaving India with real depth and care. Dancing seamlessly between stop motion & 2D, the mixed media format enhanced the storytelling and its evocative imagery. With strong characterisation and real emotions.

Thursday’s ceremony opened with the Industry Excellence Awards, shining a spotlight on the often-invisible work of writers, storyboard artists, character designers, and animators. Awards in eight film categories followed, ranging from shorts and features to immersive works and children’s films.

The festival presented Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon with the MAF Fellowship Award, celebrating over 25 years of influential work from the studio’s founders Tomm Moore, Paul Young, and Nora Twomey.

Among other highlights of this year’s program were high-profile U.K. premieres, talks with directors including Alex Woo (In Your Dreams) and Baku Kinoshita (The Last Blossom), and an exclusive look at Zootropolis 2 from Disney Animation. The screening of Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg on its 40th anniversary and the UK premiere of I Am Frankelda also drew significant attention from attendees.

In a year where the industry has faced turbulence, festival director and Skwigly editor Steve Henderson said that this year’s program pushed past the moment’s challenges:

There have been so many enriching conversations this week about the future of animation. At a tricky time for the animation industry, seeing such a range of wonderful, handcrafted, and intricate masterpieces celebrated – and awarded – here at the festival is genuinely heartwarming and brilliant, obliterating any doom and gloom!

2025 Manchester Animation Festival Winners

Industry Excellence Awards

• Scriptwriting: Davey Moore – Maddie and Triggs (CBeebies/RTÉjr)
• Storyboarding: Sasha Fusini – Supertato (BBC)
• Character Animation: Dave McKenna – Maddie and Triggs (CBeebies/RTÉjr)
• Character Design: Saeed Rezvani – Mojo Swoptops (CBeebies)

Film Competition Awards

Feature Film

• Winner: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain – Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (France)

Short Film

• Winner: Sulaimani – Vinnie Ann Bose (France)
• Special Mention: Dog Ear – Péter Vácz (Hungary)

British Short Film

• Winner: Two Black Boys in Paradise – Baz Sells (U.K.)
• Special Mention: Brain Space – Laura Tofarides (U.K.)

Student Film

• Winner: The Twelve Inch Pianist – Lucas Ansel (U.S.)
• Special Mention: Urban Duo – Hongyu Yue (China)

Immersive Film

• Winner: Out of Nowhere – Kris Hoffman (Austria)
• Special Mention: Less Than 5gr of Saffron – Négar Motevalymeidanshah (France)

Commissioned Film

• Winner: Desi Oon – Suresh Eriyat (India)
• Special Mention: Naive New Beaters & Star Feminine Band – Ye Kou Si Kuo (France)

Audience Award

• Winner: Ovary-Acting – Ida Melum (U.K.)

Short Film for Children

• Winner: Forevergreen – Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears (U.S.)