Portuguese Animation Dominates at Quirino Awards With Wins for ‘Nayola’ ‘The Garbage Man,’ ‘Ice Merchants’
Callum McLennan The sixth edition of the Quirino Awards, an annual event dedicated to the promotion of animation in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, saw a triumph for Portuguese cinema, with animations from the country taking home four of the nine awards. The Quirino Awards also proved a veritable showcase of Portugal’s rich animation history– apt as the event also marked the centenary of animation in Portugal. The feature film “Nayola,” helmed by Portuguese director José Miguel Ribeiro, walked off with the best feature film award. The film, a Praça Filmes production, is a moving depiction of three generations of Angolan women grappling with the aftermath of the civil war that devastated their country in the late 20th century. Ribeiro’s first feature, “Nayola,” which premiered in main competition at the Annecy Animation Festival in 2022, is based on the play “A Caixa Preta” by Eduardo Agualusa and Mia Coutode. Its bold color palette, and melding of myth and a female perspective on the traumas of war clearly struck the jury.