European animation has revealed its creativity and vigour at the 12th edition of Cartoon Movie, the business forum that drew together over 630 sector professionals from 32 countries in Lyon, France. The steady growth of stereoscopic 3D, the preview of new films by well-known directors and the high quality of the projects presented at the event all augur a promising future for this industry.
For the second consecutive year, Lyon became the capital of European animation with the celebration of Cartoon Movie, the business forum aimed at strengthening the production and distribution of animated feature films in Europe. The event, which took place from 3-5 March, showcased 51 new animated films to be released over the next few years and registered a record attendance and a significant rise in the number of distributors (30% increase). Projects from 16 different countries reflected the cultural diversity and graphic richness that have come to characterise European animation.
The event kicked off on the evening of 3 March with the screening of “In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday today?” by Jiří Barta. Produced by Czech company Bio Illusion, this stop-motion film full of humour, poetry and imagination is an adventure fairy tale where forgotten toys magically transform themselves in a mysterious attic. The film was presented by its director, Jiří Barta, a legendary Czech director of animation known for awarded films such as “The Pied Piper” and “The Extinct World of Gloves”.
Some of the most highly-awaited projects passed through Cartoon Movie’s venue on the following days, including “The Congress”, the new work by director Ari Folman after his powerful “Waltz with Bashir”, featuring actress Robin Wright; “The Illusionist”, the latest film by Sylvain Chomet (“Belleville Rendez-vous”), based upon an original script from Jacques Tati; and “Le Magasin des Suicides”, the feature film which will mark veteran French director Patrice Leconte’s (“Ridicule”, “Tandem”) debut in animation.
New talent also had a chance to make its presence at Cartoon Movie, which has become a springboard for future animation successes. Among conspicuous projects: “Approved for Adoption” by Laurent Boileau and Jung Hénin (Mosaïque Films / Artemis Production), “Of Hares and Hedgehogs” (Toons ‘n’ Tales), “Project Chopin - The Flying Machine” by Martin Clapp (Denis Friedman Productions / BreakThru Films), the collective project “11”, “Metropia” by Tarik Saleh (Atmo Metro) and “Crabwalk» by Arthur de Pins (Metronomic).
The ability of European producers to quickly adapt to new technologies was also evident at the event. 25% of the projects (13) presented in Lyon were developed or conceived in stereoscopic 3D (versus 6 percent in 2009), a technology which is boosting cinema attendance all over Europe. Among these projects was “Around the World in 50 Years” aka “Sammy’s Adventures”, the long-awaited new film by Belgian director and producer Ben Stassen, the father of stereoscopic 3D who in 2008 premiered “Fly Me to the Moon”. Along with Ben Stassen’s film, 12 other films in stereo 3D participated in Cartoon Movie 2010, showing that this state-of-the-art technology continues to grow in the European animation industry.
The films and projects selected for the event have a total budget of over 300 million Euros and comprise some 70 hours of animation. They range from projects in the early stages of development to recent premieres like “Eleanor’s secret”, “Yona Yona Penguin”, “Lascars” and “Pet Pals – Marco Polo’s Code”. They also represent a variety of film genres and different animation techniques like 2D, stop-motion and puppet animation.
French animation once again proved its strength with a third of the projects presented followed by Spain and Germany. Nordic countries also had a significant showing with a total of 10 projects. Some 30 video-game companies also participated in the event with the aim of creating synergies between the animation and video-game industries.
A third of the projects selected for the event were literary adaptations, confirming literature as one of the main sources of inspiration for European animation. The projects included adaptations of classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Perrault or Joseph Conrad, as well as contemporary writers like Stanislaw Lem or Stieg Larsson.
The meeting also hosted the ceremony for Cartoon Movie Tributes 2010, awards which seek to recognise personalities or companies who have had a positive and dynamic influence on the sector. Belgian animation was the big winner with two of the three Tributes, which are awarded based on participants’ votes. This year’s winners were Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar for “Panique au Village” (Director of the Year), France’s Wild Bunch Distribution (Distributor of the Year) and Belgium’s nWave Pictures (Producer of the Year for “Around the World in 50 Years”).
For the second year running, the hospitality of the city of Lyon and the Rhône-Alpes Region served as an inspiring backdrop for this event. With a visit to La Cartoucherie, which houses the renowned Folimage studios and the prestigious animation school La Poudrière, the participants of Cartoon Movie 2010 had a chance to see for themselves why this region is considered a hub of the audiovisual sector.
Cartoon Movie 2010 was organised by CARTOON – the European Association of Animation Film with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), the Rhône-Alpes Region, Greater Lyon and in collaboration with the Cluster Imaginove (Lyon).
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