Quickdraw Animation Society

𝑱𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2026 𝑸𝑨𝑺 𝑨𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑶𝑶𝑷𝑺! 𝑬𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Speaking on behalf of myself, and the other two Jurors, Lyndon and Joanne, I would like to say how blown away I was with the entire lineup of completed films. After organizing so many film challenges myself, and knowing how challenging these are to complete in the allotted time, I have personally never watched a competition selection with so many key elements to work in, and the outcomes were truly impressive on all levels. We all loved the high energy of the pieces this year, and the spirit of the handmade animation remains present throughout, despite the wide range of techniques and mediums used.

We were impressed by the overall creativity in stories and themes, use of prompts, variety of animated styles, team work clearly proven in the final works, the stand-out music in every animation, and found this to be a slate of world-class projects that can easily be taken to audiences outside of Calgary.

We think everyone should be really proud of what they accomplished regardless of whether you win an award or not. This was a tough deliberation to say the least.

By Brenda Lieberman on behalf of the 2026 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

🚘🤦🏻‍♂️ AUDIENCE AWARD RUNNER UP 🤦🏻‍♂️🚘

𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 by Abdullah Al-Nono (.alnono)

Congratulations to first-time lockdown participant Abdullah Al-Nono for scooping up the Audience Choice Honourable Mention! We thought this film perfectly encapsulated the theme this year - a morning where nothing goes right, and the audience is taken from gaffe to blunder with seemingly effortless wit and style.

⚔️🙃KING REDCASTLE Will Walton Award (sponsored by caos) 🙃⚔️

𝑭𝒓𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 by Russ Edworthy

The film that reflects the artist’s view of reality with a strange and strong use of colour. Dark and dry humour is expected.

Congratulations to Frienemies by Russ Edworthy, winner of the KING REDCASTLE Will Walton Award! We have all love and no loathing for this maliciously catchy tune. We loved the use of bright colours in contrast with the twisted and antagonistic theme. A special thank you as well to the singing imps, whose wee voices helped this ditty live rent-free in our heads throughout the event! It’s exactly the kind of fiendishly fun celebration of creativity and camaraderie that Lockdown is known for.

By Lyndon Navalta on behalf of the 2026 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury

🫗🤭JURY SPECIAL MENTION 🤭🫗

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 by Kailyn Humphreys, Neven Frenette, Alex Mcleod, Victor Benedetti

The Lockdown is a pressure cooker of ideas and creativity - people coming together for a short, albeit intense, time to figure out how to turn a concept into a film. The end products can be scrappy little films, rough around the edges, maybe not so pretty or polished, but strong in substance - maybe the roughness in the films is able to speak more to truth or closeness to a lived experience than something polished and tidy. Leaning into transgender body horror, The Bathroom’s strengths are its emotional undercurrent, honesty, and authentic voice. It is a quiet film that has much to say about the horrors that lurk within the confines of a small bathroom. It is this year’s winner of the Jury’s Special Mention Award. Congratulations!

By Joanne Fisher on behalf of the 2026 QAS Animation Lockdown Jury