This year's top prize at the 26th Bucheon International Animation Festival, one of Korea's largest animation film events, was clinched by Adam Elliot, the Oscar-winning Australian director behind "Memoir of a Snail."

According to the festival's committee on Tuesday, the BIAF Grand Prize for the feature film category was awarded to Elliot for his 94-minute stop-motion animation film, which follows the story Grace. She is raised by her father Percy, who lives with paraplegia and alcoholism, after her mother dies in childbirth.

"It is an original piece that explores life's traumas through the delicate, human expression of stop-motion animation, as well as dark yet warm humor and a childlike sense of wonder," said Canadian filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming, who served as the jury chair, in a press release.

The Jury Prize was awarded to the festival opener "Your Letter" by director Kim Yong-hwan. The film, set to be released in Korean theaters, tells the story of Sori, voiced by Lee Su-hyun from the band AKMU, who is bullied while attempting to assist a friend experiencing a similar problem.

The Special Distinction Prize for feature films was jointly awarded to "A Boat in the Garden" by Jean-Francois Laguionie and "Trapezium" by Shinohara Masahiro.

In the short film category, Anastasiia Falileieva's "I Died in Irpin" took the top prize, while Park Seon-yeong's "Eat With" won the top award for Korean short films.

Bucheon International Animation Festival is an annual event honoring outstanding animation from around the world. The festival kicked off its five-day run on Friday, showcasing 122 animated works from 32 countries.