Director Nora Twomey and co-directors Christian Bøving-Andersen and Eva Lee Wallberg among animation artists honored at second annual ceremony in Lille, France.
The second annual Emile Awards, presented by the European Animation Awards Association, were announced this past Saturday at the Le Nouveau Siècle theatre in Lille, France. Nora Twomey took home the Best Direction in a Feature Film award for The Breadwinner, which also took top honors in three other categories. Christian Bøving-Andersen and Eva Lee Wallberg won the award for Best Direction in a TV / Broadcast Production for their series, The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe, which was also honored with wins in three other categories.
The Emile Awards, the brainchild of Didier Brunner, Jean-Paul Commin and Aardman co-founder Peter Lord, European Animation Awards Association president, were founded to reward artistic excellence and diversity in the European animation film industry. 18 trophies were awarded this year in various feature film, short film and TV categories, In addition, former Channel 4 programming executive Clare Kitson was honored with the Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her years of championing animation in all forms as both art and entertainment. The complete list of winners can be found below.
According to a Variety report, the awards ceremony, buzzing with humor and charm, “…was an evening of beautiful mishaps, as the streets of Lille were a mix of brave and peaceful civilian protesters gathered just blocks away from holiday carolers, singing with their children in their arms. The awards ceremony lost their WiFi connection, had all of the glassware stolen for the winners’ after party, and in the most headscratching passage of the evening, contestants for Miss France were paraded into the ceremony, where a number admitted knowing little-to-nothing about animation.”
Nonetheless, the spirited awards capped two-days of screenings and workshops done this year for the first time in conjunction the Fête de l’anim’ animation festival. Attendees were also treated to a screening of a restored version of George Dunning’s Yellow Submarine, celebrating its 50th anniversary, followed the ceremony.
The list of winners by categories:
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN A STUDENT FILM
Anna Mantzaris (director) for Enough - United Kingdom
BEST DIRECTION IN AN ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels (co-directors) for This Magnificent Cake! - Belgium, France, Netherlands
BEST BACKGROUND & CHARACTER DESIGN IN AN ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Gilles Cuvelier (director) for (Fool) Time Job - France
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN A COMMISSIONED FILM
Magnus Igland Møller (director) for A most precise and nuanced look into the life of the man, legend and visionary - Martin Luther - Denmark
TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTIONS:
BEST DIRECTION IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Christian Bøving-Andersen, Eva Lee Wallberg (co-directors) for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe - Denmark
BEST WRITING IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Kim Fupz Aakeson, Ida Mule Scott (writers) for Vitello - Vitello Gets a Yucky Girlfriend - Denmark
BEST STORYBOARD IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Kenneth Ladekjær, Eva Lee Wallberg (storyboard artists) for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe - Denmark
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Tina Lykke Thorn, Henrik Sønniksen, Mikkel Vedel & Eva Lee Wallberg (co-animators) for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe - Denmark
BEST BACKGROUND & CHARACTER DESIGN IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Mikkel Sommer, Birk Von Brockdorff (co-designers) for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe - Denmark
BEST SOUNDTRACK IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Yan Volsy, Pablo Pico (composer) for A Man is Dead - France
BEST SOUND DESIGN IN A TV / BROADCAST PRODUCTION
Célia Sayaphoum (sound designer) for Athleticus - Middle-distance running - France
FEATURE FILM:
BEST DIRECTION IN A FEATURE FILM
Nora Twomey (director) for The Breadwinner - Ireland, Luxembourg, Canada
BEST WRITING IN A FEATURE FILM
Denis Do, Magali Pouzol (writers) for Funan - France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Cambodia
BEST STORYBOARD IN A FEATURE FILM
Giovanna Ferrari, Julien Regnard, Stuart Shankly (storyboard artists) for The Breadwinner - Ireland, Luxembourg, Canada
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION IN A FEATURE FILM
Fabian Erlinghäuser, John Walsh, Lorraine Lordan, Jeremy Purcell, Viktor Ens, Nicolas Debray, Geoff King, Emmanuel Asquier-Brassart (animators) for The Breadwinner - Ireland, Luxembourg, Canada
BEST BACKGROUND & CHARACTER DESIGN IN A FEATURE FILM
Ciaran Duffy, Réza Riàhi (art directors), Sandra Andersen (character designer) for The Breadwinner - Ireland, Luxembourg, Canada
BEST SOUNDTRACK IN A FEATURE FILM
Mikel Salas (composer) for Another Day of Life - Poland, Spain, Belgium, Germany
BEST SOUND DESIGN IN A FEATURE FILM
Nicolas Leroy, Michel Schillings, Nicolas Tran Trong (sound designers) for Funan - France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Cambodia
Source: The European Animation Association
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
