I am very pleased that COVID Dystopia won an Honorable Mention at the Charlotte Film Festival in North Carolina. COVID Dystopia screened on the morning after Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina.
Charlotte is further east than Asheville, North Carolina which was absolutely demolished by the storms flooding. Charlotte on the other hand only saw a solid day of rain and no power outages. By the end of the film festival the sun had come out.
I was trying desperately to find a connecting flight to Charlotte but my film had screened at 10:30PM on the night before in Reno Nevada. There was no flight that could get me to Charlotte by 10 AM the next morning.
The animated film that did win for Best Animated Film was called, Have You Eaten. The jury liked the narrative, and the nostalgia of the story. For COVID Dystopia, the jury considered the film quite different and very vivid, being relatable with great technique and good pacing. Indeed COVID Dystopia challenges the audience to try and keep up with the insane fever dream.