Captain Morten and the Spider Queen’, the recently completed Telegael (Ireland), Nukufilm (Estonia), Grid (Belgium) and Calon (Wales) co–production has picked up the Best Animated Feature award at the Schlingel Festival for Children and Young People held recently in Chemnitz in Germany. It beat off competition from 124 films from 51 countries, including “The Breadwinner” and “White Fang”.
Schlingel is the biggest festival of its kind in Germany. The festival gives an overview of the newest international productions in the area of children and youth films. The festival is organised by the Saxon Children and Youth Films Association in Chemnitz.
The prize was awarded by the German Institute for Animated Film, DIAF, commenting as follows:
‘A boy whose greatest wish is to be taken on a great sea voyage by his father and who dreams of being captain of his own ship. The best donuts in the world, a treasure holding a ship together, and out-of-control magic cannon to be used only by people who know what they are doing. These are just some of the ingredients for this boundlessly imaginative adventure with excellent animation and lovingly crafted characters. An enchanting and adorable story, told in an original and detailed way.’
‘Captain Morten and the Spider Queen’ produced on a budget of €10 million has been six years in the making and is the first feature length stop-motion film to be animated in Ireland. The all-Irish cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Pauline McLynn, Ciarán Hinds and Michael McElhatton as well as stand–up comedians Mario Rosenstock, Jason Byrne, Tommy Tiernan and Neil Delamere.
“We are very excited to win the Best Animated Feature award from the German Institute for Animated Film” said Paul Cummins, Telegael CEO and Executive Producer of the film. “This is an amazing achievement for our film in competition with 124 other films from over 51 countries. Captain Morten is in big demand at international festivals and very popular with children.”
‘Captain Morten and the Spider Queen’ has recently been released in France and is due for release in Poland shortly. The film is beng sold worldwide by Sola Media.