Irish animation studios continue to hold international recognition and influence in Annecy this June. The Annecy International Animated Film Festival is renowned as the world’s largest festival dedicated to animation, taking place in the picturesque town of Annecy, south east France 11th – 16th June. This year, Animation Ireland held a distinct presence in Annecy at the Mifa animation market, representing its 25 member studios and drawing much attention from all nationalities.
Animation Ireland’s main focus at Mifa was on recruitment and attracting talent to Ireland. The mission was in response to the ongoing demand from Irish studios for animators and animation professionals. The event welcomed nearly 12’000 attendees from 88 countries, with 3’800 Mifa market badge holders. Top executives attended Annecy to take advantage of the festival’s best business networking, and to engage in critical dialogue on issues and challenges that affect the industry. The festival also welcomed a large contingent of students, recent graduates and creatives looking for recruitment and networking opportunities, getting face-time with primary animation industry leaders, and to rejuvenate their inspiration and creativity; many of whom met and engaged with Animation Ireland at Mifa.
The studios and representatives who attended from Ireland were Animation Skillnet, Boulder Media, Brown Bag Films, Cartoon Saloon, Daily Madness, Giant Animation, Gingerbread Animation, Hotdropfilms, Ink & Light Films, JAM Media, Kavaleer, Lighthouse Studios, Moetion Films, Monster Entertainment, Piranha Bar, Telegael, Treehouse Republic and Women in Animation Ireland. Over several days, these studios made new connections, recruited the hottest new talent, pitched their latest shows, shared ideas that drive their business forward, while discovering the latest trends in children’s content.
More exciting news from Annecy came from Cartoon Saloon, with their latest television co-production ‘Vikingskool’, which was announced by Disney at a highlight presentation at the festival. The series will follow a group of young would-be Viking warriors in an elite Vikingskool. Targeting 6-11 year olds, the group will embark on a series of humorous and exciting adventures in a mystical world. The series is being produced by Cartoon Saloon and France’s Samka Productions with post-production from Norwegian VFX company Storm Films.
And lastly, but certainly not least, there was yet more shining success for Nora Twomey and the Cartoon Saloon team when ‘The Breadwinner‘ managed to scoop up three awards; ‘Audience Award’, Best Original Music Award for a feature film’ and ‘Jury Award’.
Following its world premiere at TIFF, ‘The Breadwinner‘ picked up the Grand Prize at the ‘Animation Is Film Festival’ in Hollywood, back in October, which also saw Nora Twomey pick up the audience award. The film was nominated for both an Oscar & Golden Globe, only to miss out to Disney Pixars’ ‘Coco’. ‘The Breadwinner’ has won a number of coveted awards across the globe including one for ‘Best Animated Feature – Independent’ at the 2018 Annie Awards.
For more info about Annecy International Film Festival, visit: Annecy 2018
For more info about our member studios and job listings, visit: Animation Ireland