On 19 September, Cartoon Forum announced the winners of the Tributes, the three awards handed out annually to honour “the work of broadcasters, investors/distributors and producers in the promotion and development of European animation”. This year’s winners were voted for by some 1,000 professionals who attended the event in Toulouse, which unspooled from 16-19 September.

The Broadcaster of the Year Prize went to Franco-German pubcaster ARTE, while Germany’s ZDF Studios and Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon were crowned Investor/Distributor of the Year and Producer of the Year, respectively.

Founded in 1992, ARTE is a public cultural TV channel and digital network with a strong focus on creation and innovation. Samuel, Music Queens, Boys Boys Boys and Globozone are just some of the shows that have previously been pitched in Toulouse.

Founded in 1993, Mainz-based ZDF Studios is a commercial subsidiary of Germany’s ZDF, one of the largest European pubcasters. With a catalogue of 25,000 episodes in 25 different languages, the giant is responsible for the global distribution of ZDF’s and third parties’ content, investing in roughly 20 programmes per year. Dougie Dolittle, Tobie Lolness and 20 Dance Street are some of the series that have recently been presented at Cartoon Forum and are being distributed worldwide.

Established in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, Cartoon Saloon is an award-winning studio that has racked up Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, as well as achieving many other prestigious wins, including BAFTAs and Emmys. Based in Kilkenny, the studio behind hits such as The Breadwinner [+leggi anche:
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This year’s nominees also included outfits from Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.

Finally, Italian executive Luca Milano received a Cartoon Tribute of Honour for his contribution to European animation. In his position as executive director of RAI Kids (the children’s unit of Italian pubcaster RAI, formerly known as RAI Ragazzi) and throughout his extensive career, Milano has been responsible for programming, acquiring, producing and co-producing animated content for children “with a clear European vocation”.

Here is the full list of this year’s Tribute winners:

Broadcaster of the Year
ARTE (Germany/France)

Investor/Distributor of the Year
ZDF Studios (Germany)

Producer of the Year
Cartoon Saloon (Ireland)

Cartoon Tribute of Honour
Luca Milano - RAI Kids (Italy)