Bestia (Spanish: Bestia) is a 2021 Chilean stop-motion animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias and co-written with Martín Erazo. The film won Best Animated Short Subject at the 49th Annie Awards. It also made the shortlist for Best Animated Short Film at the 94th Academy Awards, later achieving the nomination, becoming the second Chilean animated short film to be nominated for an Oscar after Bear Story in 2016, which won the award.
Synopsis The main character is inspired by Íngrid Olderöck, a police major and DINA agent during the Chilean military dictatorship, responsible for human rights violations in that period. According to Covarrubias, the objective of the film is not a biography of Olderöck but:
Release The film screened at the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it competed in the Short Films section and won the Festival Connexion Award.
Production Bestia is the third animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias, after El almohadón de pluma (2007) and La noche boca arriba (2012). The idea arose with the intention of addressing part of the history of Chile "with lesser-known characters, less official and darker". Although the original objective was to produce an animated series, Covarrubias decided to focus on one of those stories to make a unitary short film.
The technique used was stop motion animation, which was done by Covarrubias and Matías Delgado. The design of the protagonist was based on the aesthetics of porcelain dolls, to convey the inexpressiveness and coldness of the character. The character was created with polyurethane resin bathed in crystal resin, to give her face a texture similar to ceramic. Meanwhile, the sets and decorations were made with different opaque cardboards to create a contrast with the brightness of the resin.
The short film was produced by Tevo Díaz, through the company Trébol 3, while Cecilia Toro worked as a costume designer and art producer. Its financing came from the "Audiovisual Development Fund" of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage of Chile.
Accolades YearCeremonyAward/CategoryStatus2018ANIMA LATINA: Festival de Cine de Animación LatinoamericanoBest Latin American Short FilmWon 2021ANIMA - Córdoba International Animation FestivalBest Latin American Short Film - Best AnimationWon Best Animated Short Film - Gran Jury PrizeWon ANIMARIO - International Contemporary Animation Festival of MadridBest ShortfilmWon Annecy International Animated Film Festival Festivals Connexion AwardWon Annecy Crystal (Best Short Film)Nominated ANTOFACINE International Film FestivalBest International ShortfilmWon Best Shortfilm Young JuryWon BITBANG FestFirst Jury MentionWon Berlin Interfilm FestivalBest Animation - International CompetitionWon Confrontations Online Award- 2nd PrizeWon Bucheon International Animation Film FestivalBest International Short FilmWon Chilemonos International Animation Film FestivalBest Latin American Short FilmWon Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film FestivalBest Animation - International CompetitionWon Grand Prix - International CompetitionNominated Fam de TodosBest Short FilmWon Viña del Mar International Film FestivalBest Short FilmWon Guadalajara International Film FestivalBest Animated Short FilmWon Imaginaria Film FestivalBest Animated Short FilmWon Ottawa International Animation FestivalIndependent Short AnimationNominated StopTrik International Film FestivalAudience Grand PrixWon Best Shortfilm LODZ edition.Won Special Mention Yiorgos TsangarisWon Students Special MentionWon Tallinn Black Nights Film FestivalBest Animation ShortWon Vila do Conde International Short Film FestivalGreat Prize Cidade Vila do CondeNominated 2022Annie AwardsBest Animated Short SubjectWon Academy AwardsBest Animated Short FilmNominated Quirino Awards Best Animated Short Film Best Visual Development (Hugo Covarrubias, Constanza Wette, Pablo Castillo, Cecilia Toro) Best Animation Design (Hugo Covarrubias, Matias Delgado) Best Sound Design and Original Music (Roberto Espinoza, Roberto Zúñiga, Ángela Acuña, Camilo Salinas)
See also Independent animation Arthouse animation Cinema of Chile
References Bestia is the third animated short film directed by Hugo Covarrubias, after El almohadón de pluma (2007) and La noche boca arriba (2012)
External links
Cartoon Brew article about said film Official trailer