European Animation Awards Nominees Announced

‘The Thief and the Cobbler’ director Richard Williams will receive the inaugural Lotte Reiniger Life Time Achievement Award.

‘The Thief and the Cobbler’ director Richard Williams will receive the Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Animation Awards in December.

Peter Lord, president of the European Animation Awards association, announced the 48 nominees competing in the first edition of the Emile Awards. They were selected from 500 submissions.

The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony scheduled for Dec. 8 at Le Nouveau Siècle, in Lille, France. The ceremony will be followed by the European opening night of the animated feature film The Breadwinner, directed by Nora Twomey.

The 16 categories were divided in 4 main fields: student and short, feature films, soundtrack, TV broadcast and commissioned. For each, a jury composed of three European experts voted for the final three nominees.

The jury was composed of Carolina Lopez (Spain), Alexis Hunot (France) and Regina Pessoa (Portugal) for student and short films; Maria Anestopoulou (Greece), Tomm Moore (Ireland) and Claire Jennings (United Kingdom) for feature films; Bruno Coulais (France), Emmanuel Deletang (France) and Tom van Waveren (Netherlands) for soundtrack; and Marion Edwards (United Kingdom), Olivier Barbeau (Switzerland/France) and Yulia Aronova (Russia) for TV broadcast and commissioned.

The association also announced that the first recipient of the Lotte Reiniger Achievement Award is Canadian-British animator Richard Williams. The Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals for their lifetime contribution to the art of animation.

Williams is the director of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Thief and the Cobbler animation feature films. He also wrote The Animator's Survival Kit, which is considered as the Animation Bible for animators in training.

Members of the European Animation Awards Association will be able to vote for the winners until Nov. 30.

The nominees, by category, are:

Best Student Film

O Matko!/Oh Mother ! - Poland
Merlot - Italy
Pro Mamu/About a Mother - Russia

Best Commissioned Film

The Story of an Idea - United Kingdom
Otto 'Time' - Germany
The Last Job on Earth - United Kingdom

Best Animated Short Film

Chulyen, histoire de corbeau/Chulyen, a crow's tale - France
Sredi chernyh voln/Among the black waves - Russia
Min Börda/The Burden - Sweden

Best Background and Character Design in a Short Film Production

Peripheria - France
Manivald - Estonia, Croatia and Canada
Rêve d'enfant/Child Dream - France

Best TV/Broadcast Production (Best Director)

Revolting Rhymes - United Kingdom
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt - United Kingdom
The Amazing World of Gumball - United Kingdom

Best Background and Character Design in a TV/Broadcast Production

Hey Duggee (Season 2) - United Kingdom
Puffin Rock (Season 2) - Ireland
Ernest & Célestine - France, Belgium and Luxembourg

Best Character Animation in a TV/Broadcast Production

Revolting Rhymes - United Kingdom
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt - United Kingdom
The Amazing World of Gumball - United Kingdom

Best Writing in a TV/Broadcast Production

Mon chevalier et moi/My Knight and Me - France and Belgium
The Amazing World of Gumball - United Kingdom
Flapacha, où es-tu?/Floopaloo, where are you? (Season 2) - France

Best Storyboard in a TV/Broadcast Production

Revolting Rhymes - United Kingdom
The Amazing World of Gumball - United Kingdom
Shaun The Sheep (Season 5) – United Kingdom

Best Soundtrack in a TV/Broadcast Production

Mon chevalier et moi/My Knight and Me – France and Belgium
Lastman - France
En sortant de l’école/Fresh Out of School (Season 3: Guillaume Apollinaire) - France

Best Feature Film (Best Director)

La Tortue rouge/The Red Turtle – France, Belgium and Japan
Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes/The Big Bad Fox and other tales – France and Belgium
Ma vie de Courgette/My Life as a Zucchini – Switzerland and France

Best Background and Character Design in a Feature Film

Psiconautas, los niños olvidados/Psiconautas, the Forgotten Children - Spain
Tout en Haut du Monde/Long Way North - France and Denmark
Ethel & Ernest - United Kingdom and Luxembourg

Best Character Animation in a Feature Film

Ethel & Ernest - United Kingdom and Luxembourg
La Jeune Fille Sans Mains/The Girl Without Hands - France
La Tortue Rouge/The Red Turtle - France, Belgium and Japan

Best Writing in a Feature Film

Ethel & Ernest - United Kingdom and Luxembourg
Louise en Hiver/Louise by the Shore - France and Canada
Ma Vie de Courgette/My Life as a Zucchini - Switzerland and France

Best Storyboard in a Feature Film

Psiconautas, los niños olvidados/Psiconautas, the Forgotten Children - Spain
Tout en Haut du Monde/Long Way North - France and Denmark
La Tortue Rouge/The Red Turtle - France, Belgium and Japan

Best Soundtrack in a Feature Film