‘The Thief and the Cobbler’ director Richard Williams will receive the inaugural Lotte Reiniger Life Time Achievement Award.
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
- Ma Vie de Courgette/My Life as a Zucchini - Switzerland and France
- Tout en Haut du Monde/Long Way North - France and Denmark
- La Jeune Fille Sans Mains/The Girl Without Hands - France
Source: The European Animation Awards