'Decorado,' ‘There Is Something Behind You,’ and 'Dog Alone' among the projects honored at the 9th event celebrating diversity and scope of creative work across Ibero-American animation.
Winners of the 9th Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards were announced this past Friday at a ceremony held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, recognizing the diversity and scope of creative work across Ibera-American animation. The 2026 award-winning projects represented five countries, with Spain receiving three awards; Colombia, Portugal, and Brazil each receiving two; and Argentina receiving one, reflecting a balanced regional distribution of animation produced in the Iberian Peninsula and in Latin America.
The winning works were selected by an international jury from a pool of 265 submissions; the projects reflected a range of approaches across animation formats and categories, including technical achievements in visual development, animation design, sound design and original music.
Decorado, directed by Galician director, illustrator, and graphic novelist Alberto Vázquez, won Best Feature Film, while There Is Something Behind You – Season 1, directed by Julián Gómez Reyes, received the award for Best Series, and Dog Alone, directed by Marta Reis Andrade, took Best Short Film.
Decorado explores themes of identity and disillusionment in a society shaped by appearances. The film expands on Vázquez's earlier short of the same name and is a co-production between Spanish companies María y Arnold AIE, Abano Producións, Uniko, and Glow Animation, and Portugal's Sardinha em Lata. The award marks Vázquez's third Quirino win following earlier Best Short Film honors for Decorado (2018) and Homeless Home (2021), and follows his 2023 nomination for Unicorn Wars.
Best Series winner There Is Something Behind You combines suspense-driven storytelling with explorations of everyday fears and unexplained events. Written and directed by Julián Gómez Reyes and produced by Careloko Producciones in Bogotá, the children’s animated series’ first season received support from Colombia's Abrecámara public fund and aired on six public television channels.
Dog Alone presents an intimate 2D animated fable about loneliness and family reconnection, blending reality and imagination. The Best Short Film winner, directed by Marta Reis Andrade, was a Portuguese-French co-production between BAP – Animation Studio and Ikki Films, and has been selected at some 40 international festivals.
Additional awards included Ballad of Fishes and Birds by Anny Uribe and Juan José Arévalo for Best School Short Film; Paulinha, animated for musician Raul Manarte by Ana Marta Mendes, for Best Music Video; 18 Months by Paulo Garcia and Natalia Gouvea for Best Commissioned Film; and Stars in the Trash by José Ginés Picón López for Best Video Game Animation.
Technical category winners included Safo by Rosana Urbes for Best Visual Development; My Gut Friend by José Manuel Lo Bianco and Mariano Andrés Bergara for Best Animation Design; and The Quinta's Ghost by James A. Castillo for Best Sound Design and Original Music.
Established in 2018, the Quirino Awards function as both an awards program and an industry platform supporting Ibero-American animation through initiatives such as co-production forums and development labs. The event is supported by the Tenerife Council through Tenerife Tourism and the Tenerife Film Commission, along with a range of institutional partners and industry organizations.
Source: Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
