The 10-minute story of of a relationships in a tower block borough is the debut work by the 29-year-old Polish director.

The EUR 2,000 main prize at the festival was presented for the first time by public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, which assembled an international jury to chose the winner.

In presenting the prize, the jury said that To Thy Heart was selected for its intertwining of a personal story with religious rituals and for its narration which in tune with the animation brings the story to life for the audience.

Meanwhile, "Timber" by Nils Hedinger was selected as the best film by the festival-goers. The childrens' favourite was the Slovenian production "Cipercoper" by Jernej Žmitek and Boris Dolenc.

British film "The Shirley Temple" by Daniela Sherer was meanwhile selected for a prize presented by the universities of Ljubljana and Nova Gorica for the best student animated film.

The week-long Animateka 2014 will conclude on Sunday with the final projections and a closing ceremony.