Animation director Cordell Barker's latest film, Runaway, premiered at Cannes and won a special jury award at Annecy. (National Film Board of Canada)

Runaway, Canadian animator Cordell Barker's film about a driverless train, has won a special jury award for short films at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The nine-minute film shows happy passengers having a great time on the crowded train while the driverless locomotive pulls them around a bend.

Part comedy, part social satire it is the third collaboration between Winnipeg-born animator Barker and the National Film Board. Music was created by Ben Charest, who composed the score for The Triplets of Belleville.

Barker, who directed Oscar-nominated shorts The Cat Came Back and Strange Invaders, was also hailed at Cannes for Runaway, winning the Petit Rail d'Or award for best short film.

Annecy, one of the largest festivals devoted to animated film, awarded honours on Sunday to short films, feature films, TV productions and student films.

Swedish film Slavar, about children enslaved in Sudan, won the Annecy Crystal for best short film.

Other winners:

• Audience award for short films: Western Spaghetti of the U.S.
• Award of distinction: Please Say Something from Germany.
• Best feature: Coraline, directed by Henry Selick of the U.S. and Mary and Max, directed by Adam Elliot of Australia.
• Audience award for feature film: Brendan et le secret de Kells, by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey of France and Ireland.
• Best TV series: Log Jam, by Alexey Alexeev of Hungary.