27/01/2021 - The 23rd edition of the annual forum aimed at strengthening the production and distribution of animated feature films will take place from 9-11 March

Cartoon Movie, the annual forum aimed at strengthening the production and distribution of animated feature films in Europe and beyond, organised by CARTOON, has announced that its 23rd edition will take place online from 9-11 March.

A total of 55 projects from 16 countries have been selected for the showcase: 22 of these are at the concept stage, another 22 are in development and eight are in production. A sneak preview of three films that have already been completed will also be presented: Jonas Poher's Cannes 2020 title Flee [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
film profile] (Denmark/Sweden/Norway/France), Will Ashurst's 3D movie Christmas at Cattlehill (Norway) and Anca Damian's animated documentary The Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Romania/Belgium/France).

The line-up features upcoming works by renowned directors, such as Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol's Tales of the Hedgehog, Ben Stassen's Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness, Denis Do's Sorya, Salvador Simó's Caramel's Words, and Jiří Barta's Golem. The long-awaited sequels Checkered Ninja 2 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Anders Matthesen and Thorbjorn Christoffersen, and Black Is Beltza II: Ainhoa [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fermin Muguruza are also included in the list.

France tops the list of the best-represented countries, with 22 projects, followed by Spain, with nine, while Denmark, Germany and Romania are participating with three projects each. One-quarter of the projects have two or more European countries on board, with France, Belgium and Luxembourg as the most active co-producers in the region.

Central and Eastern European countries reinforce their presence with six projects, half of which are from Romania, while the Georgian project Igi by Natia Nikolashvili was selected as part of the agreement between CARTOON and CEE Animation to promote Central and Eastern European animation (see the news).

Regarding production, the average cost of the projects amounts to €5.4 million, 22% lower than in 2020. 3D animation projects have plummeted by 40% compared to last year. Projects aimed at family audiences are still predominant and make up half of the selection.

Cartoon Movie will again include parallel activities, such as Cartoon Games and Transmedia, a meeting that seeks to promote synergies between the animation, video-game and transmedia industries; the Coaching Programme, which will give 90 animation students and teachers from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region the opportunity to learn first hand about the industry and Cartoon Movie’s dynamics; and the Eurimages Co-production Development Award, a €20,000 cash prize created to promote this fund's role in encouraging international co-production from the initial stages of a project.

Cartoon Movie is organised with the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA, France’s CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Bordeaux Métropole, Invest Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the City of Bordeaux and Pôle Image Magelis.

Here is the full list of Cartoon Movie 2021 projects:

A Door to the Woods - Jola Kudela (France/Poland)
Production companies: Nectarious Film, Opus Film

Adil - Adil Khan, Julian Nazario Vargas (Norway)
Production company: Norsk Fjernsyn/Monday Production AS

Anna Yeuh - Love Comes in Winter (Italy/China)
Production companies: beQ entertainment, Nanjing Phoenix Media/b.d Animation Studio

Arco - Ugo Bienvenu (France)
Production companies: Remembers, Akaba

Bear Park - Leena Jääskeläinen, Kaisa Penttilä (Finland)
Production company: Pyjama Films

Birds Don't Look Back - Nadia Nakhlé (France)
Production company: Special Touch Studios

Black Is Beltza II: Ainhoa [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Fermin Muguruza (Spain)
Production companies: Talka Records SL, Ambra Projectes Culturals

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pierre Földes
film profile] - Pierre Földes (France)
Production companies: Cinéma Defacto, Miyu Productions

Brave Little Nikki - Leopold (Sweden)
Production company: FabPics AB

Caramel's Words - Salvador Simó (Spain)
Production company: Koniec Filma SL

Checkered Ninja 2 - Anders Matthesen, Thorbjørn Christoffersen (Denmark)
Production companies: A Film Production, Pop Up Production

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness - Benjamin Mousquet, Ben Stassen (Belgium/France)
Production companies: nWave, Octopolis

Christmas at Cattlehill - Will Ashurst (Norway)
Production companies: Qvisten Animation AS, Dyreparken

Copperbeak - Andriano Candriago (Italy)
Production companies: Ideacinema, Movimenti Production

Cut and Run - Chloé Cruchaude (France)
Production companies: Blue Spirit Productions

Eyeballed - Paul Bolger (Ireland)
Production company: Monster Entertainment LTD

Flavours of Iraq - Léonard Cohen (France)
Production companies: Nova Production, Miyu Productions

Flee [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
film profile] - Jonas Poher (Denmark/Sweden/Norway/France)
Production companies: Final Cut for Real, Most Alice, Vivement Lundi!, Mer Film, Sun Creature

Golem - Jiří Barta (Czech Republic)
Production company: Hausboot

Granny Samurai - The Monkey King and I - Jesper Møller (Germany)
Production company: Dreamin Dolphin Film GmbH

Hanna and the Monsters - Lorena Ares (Spain)
Production company: Mr Miyagi Films SL

Journey to Yourland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Peter Budinský (Slovakia/Belgium/Czech Republic)
Production companies: BFilm, Stacka, BFilm.cz, plutoon

Igi - Natia Nikolashvili (Georgia)
Production company: 20 Steps Production

Isis and Osiris - Fabrice Luang-Vija (France)
Production company: Fargo

Lucie's Frightful Adventures - Benoit Feroumont (Belgium/Luxembourg)
Production companies: Altitude 100 Production, Mélusine Production

Marie Louise, My Little Princess - Xavier Picard (France)
Production company: Pictak Cie

Maryam and Varto - Gorune Aprikian, Alexandre Heboyan (France)
Production companies: Tchack, Araprod

Moonlit Flamenco - Jose Sanchez Montes, Manuel Siclia (Spain)
Production companies: Rokyn Animation, Seda Films, Sacromonte Films

My Grandfather's Demons [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Nuno Beato (Portugal/Spain/France)
Production companies: Sardinha em Lata, lda, Caretos Film AIE, Midralgar (Marmita Films)

Nessi Jr. (Germany)
Production company: FFL Film- und Fernseh-Labor Ludwigsburg GmbH & Co KG

Ninn (France)
Production company: TeamTO

Pepino the Accordionist (Spain/Portugal)
Production companies: Meh Producciones, Sparkl Animation

Red Jungle - Juan José Lozano, Zoltan Horvath (France)
Production company: Dolce Vita Films

Rosa and the Stone Troll - Karla Holmbäck (Denmark)
Production company: Dansk Tegnefilm

Séraphine - Sarah Van Den Boom (France)
Production companies: Little Big Story, JPL Films, Tu nous za pas vus

Shadows - Nadia Micault (France/Belgium)
Production companies: Autour de Minuit, Panique!

Sheba - Alexis Ducord, Benjamin Massoubre (France)
Production company: Maybe Movies

Sorya - Denis Do (France)
Production company: Special Touch Studios

Starseed - Anca Damian (Romania)
Production company: Aparte Film

Tales of the Hedgehog - Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol (France)
Production company: Parmi les lucioles Films

The Adventure of Fram the Polar Bear - Stefan Buzea (Romania)
Production company: Duo Animation Production SRL

The Character of Rain - Liane-Cho Han (France)
Production companies: Maybe Movies, Ikki Films

The Fire Keeper - Jeanne Irzenski (France)
Production company: Gao Shan Pictures

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil (Spain/UK)
Production companies: Able & Baker SL, Snafu Films

The Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Anca Damian (Romania/Belgium/France)
Production companies: Aparte Film, Take Five, Komadoli

The Lost Queen - Carol Freeman (Ireland)
Production company: Paper Panther Productions

The Midnight King - Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis (France/Canada)
Production companies: Autour de Minuit, Schmuby, Micro_scope

The Treasure of Barracuda - Adrià Garcia (Spain)
Production company: Inicia Films SL

Tsitili - Frédérick Chaillou (France)
Production company: Les Films du poisson rouge

Uncanny Stories - Benoit Razy, Fabrice Luang-Vija, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Hefang Weï, Alain Gagnol, Izù Troin, Morten Riisberg Hansen (France)
Production companies: Folimage, Les Films du tambour de soie

Valentina [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Chelo Loureiro (Spain)
Production companies: Abano Producións, El Gatoverde Producciones SL, Antaruxa SL

War with the Salamanders - Catherine Maximoff (France)
Production company: Les Contes modernes

White Plastic Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó
film profile] - Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó (Hungary/Slovakia)
Production companies: SALTO Film and Media Productions Ltd, Artichoke sro

Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope - Elio Quiroga, Beñat Beitia (Spain/Chile/France)
Production companies: Dibulitoon Studio SL, La Ballesta, El Otro Film, Midralgar (Marmita Films)

Your Spotted Skin - Daniel Nocke, Stefan Krohmer, Thomas Meyer-Hermann (Germany)
Production companies: Studio Film Bilder GmbH, Raumkapsel, Schmidt & Stein-Schomburg GbR