Here is the list of the winners of the 2004 CINEME Animation Film Festival, held in Chicago September 24th-26th:

Best Student Film
107.6 Degrees – Amila and Patrick Puhala
107.6 Degrees is the temperature at which brain damage begins to occur. This short is a surreal comedy about two desert dwellers who find themselves in the middle of a barren land with little shelter from the midday heat. Their desperation is heightened by the strange and continuous disappearance of the coveted shade…

Best First Film
The Monkey and the Bananas – Peter Mulliken
The story of the Monkey and the Bananas is told through the eyes of a child. A monkey relies on his friend the giraffe to help him through tough times as he grows and learns. The giraffe depends on the monkey for company and friendship. Both friends learn little life lessons as their days and seasons pass in an almost nonsensical narration that makes all those who see it forget reason and live, for a moment, in the mind of a five year old.

Best Short Film
Hate Mail – Brad Trofin
Mailman is greeted by a dog that refuses to let him deliver a package.

Best Web Design
A Break in the Road – Luke Whittaker
An up and coming urban musician is given a shot at stardom by a record label, and must come up with beats using sounds collected from the city.

Best Web Commercial
Adventures of Seinfeld and Superman – Unplugged Studio
American Express, its agency-Ogilvy&Mather, Radical Media, world-reknowned comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson teamed up to create two short films featuring Jerry and his animated buddy, Superman. Though Superman is the “Man of Steel”, there are some things even he can’t do. Fortunately, Jerry can pick up the slack with his own power: The American Express card.

Best Music
Into the Night – Pete Dionne
The rock band ‘Black Rice’ are Vampire hunting mummies, who use their music to save a small town from terror.

Best Media
Taste Test – Julie Kimmel for Planet Propaganda
Animated advertising spot for Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches communicates a message of superior taste.

Best Television
Monstories: Fine Diners – Lance Taylor
The Gypsy Monsters, Max and Mel, attend a fine “monster” restaurant.

Best of the Fest
Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher – Alexander Woo
It’s the height of World War II, and the United States is at war with the Nazi’s. The US government has just been informed that Eval Snitzler, head Nazi, has occupied a remote island off the coast of South America. Convinced that his motives are more than leisurely, the United States sends Rex Steele, Nazi Smasher extraordinaire, to uncover and foil Eval’s evil plans.