"Chicken for Linda!" and "Robot Dreams" Win Top Honors at 2023 Animation Is Film Festival

"Chicken for Linda!" also awarded Audience Award highlighting single parenting in hectic world; "Robot Dreams" portrays 80s New York through pantomime and animation.

• “Chicken for Linda!” directed by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Animation Is Film Festival. This colorful film showcases the struggles faced by a single mother attempting to cook a chicken dish for her daughter as a form of reconciliation after unjustly punishing her.
• “Robot Dreams,” directed by Pablo Berger, secured the Special Jury Prize at the festival. The film, an adaptation of Sara Varon’s graphic novel, illustrates the adventures of a dog and a robot in 1980s New York, using only pantomime and animation, with no dialogue.
• In the shorts category, “Letter to a Pig” by Tal Kantor and “Wild Summon” by Saul Freed and Karni Arieli won the Grand Prize and Special Jury Prize respectively. The first tells the story of a Holocaust survivor who writes a thank-you letter to a pig that saved his life, while the second documents the life cycle of a salmon in human form.
• “Chicken for Linda!” is set to be released by U.S. distributor GKIDS, and “Robot Dreams” will be released by Neon. Both films have also gained recognition at the Annecy Film Festival, boosting their potential for the upcoming Oscars season.
• The Animation Is Film Festival took place at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood from October 18-22, featuring a variety of feature films and shorts, including the opening film “The Boy and the Heron” and the closing film “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.”

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