Animation invades Baltic shores at Cartoon Forum
Over 700 professionals from the European animation industry are in Sopot, on the shores of the Baltic Sea for the 22nd edition of Cartoon Forum, which kicks off today. The event will put the spotlight on 12 companies from seven European countries which are among the finalists vying for the Best Broadcaster, Best Investor-Distributor and Best Producer of the Year awards.
Running until September 16, this edition of Cartoon Forum is being held for the first time in Poland. The host country stands out with five new animated series in the selection, which puts it in fourth place after France (21), the UK (14) and Spain (11). Poland will present Agata (Serafiński Studio and TV Studio Filmów Animowanych), Basia (Grupa Smacznego), Casparade (Film Produkcja), Pamietnik Florki (Anima-Pol) and Pluszaki rozrabiaki (Filmograf, Egmont Polska and Studio Miniatur Filmowych).
The Forum will also unveil the prize list for the Golden Cartoon 2011, which goes to the Best Animated Short Film of the Year. Among the nominees is Polish director Damian Nenow’s Paths of Hate (produced by Platige Image), which previously picked up honours at the Spanish festival Mundos Digitales in La Coruña and was selected at Annecy and Edinburgh. The other contenders for the title are Verena Fels’s Mobile (Germany - Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg); André Bergs’s Pivot (Netherlands, produced by Il Luster Productions); David O'Reilly’s The External World (Ireland - David O’Reilly Animation & Detailfilm); Jakob Schuh and Max Lang’s The Gruffalo (UK - Magic Light Pictures in association with Studio Soi); and directorial duo Johannes Weiland and Uwe Heidschötter’s The Little Boy and the Beast (Germany - Studio Soi).
Cartoon Forum has been organised every year since 1990 by the European Association of Animation Film in order to encourage the production and distribution of European series. The partners of this Polish edition are the MEDIA Programme, the Polish Culture Ministry, the Polish Film Institute and the city of Sopot.
(Translated from French)
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