22/10/2009

Irish director Tomm Moore’s multiple award-winning The Secret of Kells [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Didier Brunner
interview: Tomm Moore
interview: Viviane Vanfleteren
film profile] will be hoping to add the European Film Academy (EFA) Animated Feature Film 2009 award to its already bulging prize kitty. The Ireland/France/Belgium co-production will compete with the other nominees: Kari Juusonen and Michael Hegner’s Niko & the Way to the Stars [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Finland/Germany/Denmark/Ireland) and Jacques-Rémy Girerd’s Mia And The Magoo (France).

Kells has won the Audience Award at Annecy and at the Cartoon Movie Tributes at Lyon, and Moore was named Best European Director of the Year and the producers Cartoon Saloon (Ireland)/ Les Armateurs (France)/Vivi Film (Belgium) also took home the prize for Best European Producer of the Year. Moore has also won the Directors Finders Award, Ireland and the Audience Award at Edinburgh.

Niko won the Audience Award and the Cinekid Film Award at Cinekid; Best Film and Best Script at the Jussi Awards; and a special mention at the Oulu International Children’s Film Festival.

A jury comprising EFA Board Members Per Holst (producer, Denmark) and Antonio Saura (producer, Spain) as well as representatives of CARTOON, the European Association of Animation Film, Agnès Bizzaro (program consultant/editor, France/Germany), Enzo d’Alo (director, Italy) and Joanna Quinn (director, UK) chose the nominees. The winner will be announced at the EFAs on December 12 in Bochum.

The 22nd European Film Awards are presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions with the support of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 “Essen for the Ruhr”, the Minister President and the Minister for Federal and European Affairs and the Media of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Filmstiftung NRW.