Irish films win at animation festival

Santa’s Apprentice, a feature film, won a special UNICEF award for highlighting the goals of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the Annecy International Film Festival.

The movie was co-produced by Kilkenny-based company Cartoon Saloon and the Irish Film Board/Bord Scannán na hÉireann (IFB). The film features the voices of Australian actors Delta Goodrem, Magda Szubanski and Shane Jacobson. It tells the story of a reluctant Santa who must retire and find an apprentice to replace him.

Boulder Media picked up the best TV production award in the TV and commissioned films category for its series, The Amazing World of Gumball – The Quest. The series began broadcast on the Cartoon Network last month and has already been commissioned for a second series.

Commenting on the wins, Emma Scott at the IFB said, “It’s great to see continued international recognition for the work the Irish animation industry is producing.

“IFB support for animation projects is vital to ensuring Irish companies can hold on to their own IP enabling them to exploit their own material fully, which helps the long-term stability of companies here and allows them to flourish in the international market place.”

She added that the animation sector is an export-focused business that remains a leading full-time employer in the audio-visual sector.

The Annecy Animation Festival and market (MIFA) is the world's largest event entirely focused on animation. The major players of the Irish animation industry including Cartoon Saloon, Brown Bag, Monster Distributes and Kavaleer all attended the festival this year. 

Over the weekend, the IFB and Enterprise Ireland launched a new Irish animation promo to showcase the Irish sector. 

Another event was organised with the Luxembourg Film Fund to bring together producers from the two countries with a view of exploring co-producing opportunities ahead of a co-production treaty, which will be signed at the Galway Film Fleadh.