iWorld
Here are the winners of the second edition of Ann Awards
Mumbai: On 17 July, Animation Xpress concluded the second edition of KAM Kids Animation & More summit that successfully brought together all the stakeholders of the animation space from all across the globe. The summit was followed by a grand award ceremony titled the ANN Awards 2021 where the best talents in the world of animation were honoured and recognised for their artistry and creativity.
KAM Summit and ANN awards were presented by Nick and co-powered by Cosmos-Maya, Unreal-Engine and Discovery Kids. YOTTA served as the workstation partner and OTT service partner whereas Green Gold Animation was the summit partner. ABAI promoting Centre of Excellence (COE) were the associate partners and the event was supported by in10 Media – GUBBARE and HUION. Tokyo-based TBS’ Digicon6 Asia was the festival partner and ASIFA India was the community partner.
Animators, studios, and individuals from institutes participated across 66 categories, setting a benchmark in the animation space. Over 300 artists were judged by a well-qualified 10-member jury through an online mechanism. The jurors were Vidit Kundra, Shilpa Ranade, Yoshiya Ayugai, Sekhar Mukherjee, Joan Vogelesang, Indrajit Nattoji, Anil Wanvari, Vivek Ram, Jack Liang, Dhimant Vyas.
The winners will receive the Ann Awards trophy along with digital certificates.
This year to honour the creative genius and champion of Indian animation industry, the late Arnab Chaudhuri, AnimationXpress introduced a new recognition, ‘The Arnab Chaudhuri Director’s Award’. To select the winners, an Awards Committee was put in place that consisted of people who have been associated with Arnab and understood his philosophies- Vaibhav Kumaresh, Ashish Kulkarni, Pete Bishop, Orion Ross, P Jayakumar, Prakash Moorthy, Hari Varma, Anil Wanvari and Ashima Avasthi.
The winning student director under ‘The Arnab Chaudhuri Young Ace Award – Short Form content’ will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 15,001 and the winner of ‘The Arnab Chaudhuri Young Ace Award – Long fort Form content’ will be awarded with Rs 33,001. The cash prize is a joint contribution from Ashima Avasthi, Vaibhav Kumaresh and AnimationXpress. The winners will also receive a digital tablet from our support partner HUION.
Here’s the list of Ann Awards nominations and winners:
PROGRAMMING
Best Preschool Show
· Mighty Little Bheem episode – A Royal Festival of Colors (Green Gold Animation)
Best Channel Packaging
· Warner Media India – Pogo Festive Packaging
Best Promo
· Kaal ka badla (Discovery Kids India)
· Kris Live Action Sport (Warner Media India – Pogo)
· Kris Live Action Stationary (Warner Media India – Pogo)
· Toons ki barish (Warner Media India – Cartoon Network)
· What’s Your Summer Plan (Sony Pictures Networks India)
Best 2D Animated Series
· Abhimanyu (Toonz Media Group)
· Ting Tong as Inventor (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)
· Chhota Bheem Episode – Shrunken Kids (Green Gold Animation)
· Fukrey Boyzzz: Vanaar Sena (Discovery Kids India)
· Titoo (Cosmos-Maya)
Best 3D animated series
· Bhoot Bandhus Family Tree & Bhoot Bandhus Magic Show (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)
· Rudra – Race to the mountain (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)
· Bablu Dablu: Monster Plan (One Take Media)
· Motu Patlu (Cosmos-Maya)
· KickO and Super Speedo (Sony Pictures Networks India)
Best Animated Film
· Fatak Patak – Sheru Ban Gaya Champion (Nihodo Media)
· Rudra – The Land of Nowhere (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)
· Bheem In The City (Green Gold Animation)
· Little Singham : Kaal ki Shatir Chaal (Discovery Kids India)
· Little Singham: Future mein Satakli (Discovery Kids India)
Best Animated Short Film
· Ting Tong as Kungfu Dancer (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)
· Jungle Mangal (Saggitive TechnoCreative Solutions)
· Lamput – Transfer Gun (Warner Media India)
Best Music Composer
· Har Task with a Mask (Warner Media India)
· Move it Like the Animals (YoBoHo Digital Content)
· Kicko and Super Speedo vs Benaam Who (Sony Pictures Networks India)
Best Remotely Produced Content
· Bheega Diya na (Warner Media India)
· We for the World (Warner Media India – Pogo)
· Momo and Tulus (YoBoHo Digital Content)
DIGITAL/ OTT AWARDS
Best Animated Film
· Bombay Rose (Paperboat Design Studios)
· Titoo Ambulance (Warner Media India – Pogo)
· Christmas Ident (Warner Media India – Pogo)
· Simmba Biker Gang (Warner Media India – Pogo)
Best Animated Digital Series
· Gummy Bear & Friends (Toonz Media Group)
· Mighty Little Bheem Episode – Come Out and Play (Green Gold Animation)
Best Animated Music Video
· The Fortune & Julia Nem – Lost (Kiran Venugopalan)
· Titoo aisa kyun hain? (Warner Media India)
· Har task with a mask (Warner Media India – Pogo)
Best Remotely Produced content
· Toons ki barish (Warner Media India – Cartoon Network)
Best Animated Social Media Brand
· Cosmos-Maya WowKidz
Best Reels
· Pixoury Media
TECHNICAL AWARDS
Best Title Design
· Fukrey Boyzzz: Vaanar Sena (Discovery Kids India)
Best Title Song
· Keymon Ache (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)
· Hope Song – Phhir Dil Bolega YAY! (Sony Pictures Networks India)
· Honey Bunny ka Jholmaal title song (Sony Pictures Networks India)
Best Editing in an Animated TV Series
· Motu Patlu (Cosmos-Maya)
Best Editing in an Animated Film
· Fatak Patak – Sheru Ka World Tour (Nihodo Media)
· Fatak Patak – Sheru Aur Masti Ki Pathshala (Nihodo Media)
· Honey Bunny in Ghost Palace (Sony Pictures Networks India)
Best Editing in an Animated Digital Series
· Momo and Tulus (YoBoHo Digital Content)
· Ace2Three Rummy (Skill Tool Studio)
Best Director of an Animated TV series
· Toonz Media Group
Chacha Chaudhary
· Cosmos-Maya
Selfie With Bajrangi
· Cosmos-Maya
Motu Patlu
Technical Awards
Best Director of an Animated Film
· A THEOREM (AK RAPOLU THEOREM)
DHIRA
Best Director of a Digital Series
· Skill Tool Studio
Ace2Three Rummy
Best Screenplay
· Fatak Patak – Sheru Ka World Tour (Nihodo Media)
· Fatak Patak – Sheru Ban Gaya Champion (Nihodo Media)
· Honey Bunny and Super Car Race (Sony Pictures Networks India)
Best Character Design
· Tiger in Jungle Mangal (Saggitive TechnoCreative Solutions)
· Gadget Guru Ganesha (Cosmos-Maya)
· Bapu (Cosmos-Maya)
Best Character Animation
· One Take Media Bablu
Dablu: Monster Plan
Best Voice Over Artist for a TV series – Male
· Sony Pictures Networks India
Honey Bunny Ka Jholmaal
Best Voice Over Artist for a Digital series – Female
· YoBoHo Digital Content Build
A Childrens Playground
Best Technical Innovation
· A THEOREM (AK RAPOLU THEOREM)
DHIRA
L&M (Licensing & Merchandising) Awards
Best Animated Character Merchandise
· Chhota Bheem Saregama Carvaan Mini (Green Gold Animation)
Best Animated Series Merchandise
· Fatak Patak (Nihodo Media)
Best Licensed Animated Character Programme
· Chhota Bheem (Green Gold Animation)
Best Licensed Animated Series Programme
· Bablu Dablu: Snow Daze (One Take Media)
Best use of Leveraging a Character for Brand Marketing
· Chhota Bheem Jelimal Candies (Green Gold Animation)
MAM (Media, Advertising and Marketing) Awards
Best Animated Brand Film
· Air India Animated Brand Films (ARTHA Animation)
· Ace2Three Rummy (Skill Tool Studio)
· TRAQ by Titan (Paperboat Design Studio)
Best Digital Campaign for an Animated Series
· Fukreyy Boyzzz Launch (Discovery Kids India)
· Kaal ki Shatir Chaal (Discovery Kids India)
· Ace2Three Rummy (Skill Tool Studio)
Best use of Animated Character in a Brand TVC
· Air India Animated Brand Advertisements (ARTHA Animation)
Best Experiential Marketing
· School Contact Programme (Discovery Kids India)
Best Brand Collaboration
· Fukrey Boyzzz x Britannia Krunch (Discovery Kids India)
Best Innovative Campaign
· SuperHero Academy (Discovery Kids India)
Student Awards
Best Student 3D Film
· Deep Trouble (MAAC Andheri – Mumbai)
· Let’s Go (MAAC South Extension – New Delhi)
· BOOND (MAAC Malad – Mumbai)
Best Student 2D film
· Story of a Beginning
Balaram J (National Institute of Design)
· Water Pollution
Vishnu Balal (UNESCO H2Ooooh! – Waterwise Program 2021 by Toonz Media Group)
· Blinding Lights Music Video
Dhruv Dhindale, Sakshi Singh & Aman Singh (DICE VFS)
SPECIAL AWARDS
Best Animator – Female
· Meera Latkar (Warner Media India – POGO)
Bheega diya naa
Best Animator – Male
· Mukund Bhaleghare (Skill Tool Studio)
ACE2THREE Rummy
Best Indie Studio
· Paperboat Design Studios
Young Animator of the Year
· Balaram J (National Institute of Design)
Story of a Beginning
Best Animated Music Video
· Jazyl Homavazir & Amandeep Singh
Homeless Homeboy Animated Opening
· YoBoHo Digital Content
Move it Like the Animals
· Discovery Kids India
Little Singham: Kaal ki shatir Chaal
· Kiran Venugopalan & Aishwarya Manoj Mankar
The Fortune & Julia Nem – Lost
Best Bollywood inspired animated IP
· Fukrey Boyzzz (Discovery Kids India)
Best use of animation in a public service message nominee
· Pollution Control Day 2020 (Digitalclay Studios)
· Mumbai Police Parivaar (ARTHA Animation)
· Fukrey Boyzzz: Swag wali Diwali (Discovery Kids India)
Best Syndicated Content
· Bablu Dablu: Sunsational Summer (One Take Media)
EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS
Best 3D Series Overall- TV and OTT
· Mondo Yan (Toonz Media Group)
· Mighty Little Bheem Episode – A Flower For Mom (Green Gold Animation)
Most Expansive Studio of the Year
Cosmos-Maya
The Arnab Chaudhuri Director’s Award
The Arnab Chaudhuri Young ACE Award – Short Form
· Notun Fasal (New Harvest)
Sovan Dutta (SRFTI)
The Arnab Chaudhuri Young ACE Award – Long Form
· Story of a Beginning
Balaram J (National Institute of Design)
The Arnab Chaudhuri Animation ACE Award
· Chandra’s Cafe
Krishna Chandran A. Nair
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
