As a brand new thing, the European animation industry is coming together to host an annual awards show dedicated to animated films and TV.
On 8 December, sixteen Emile awards will be presented in the French city of Lille, promoting animation as an independent art form and recognising professional animation artists in Europe.
Awards will be given for best animation, storyboards, character and background designs, sound, screenplay and production in features, shorts, student films and TV series. In addition, a Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented.
Important Initiative
The European Animation Awards (EAA) are the first of their kind in Europe to celebrate not only the director and the producer but all the vital contributors to the creation of an animated film. That has been conspicuously absent, says producer Marie Bro, who has been part of the creation of EAA from the get-go and serves as the Danish representative on the association’s board.
"It has been a huge undertaking, and at times has seemed almost possible, but it has been important for me to take part and keep at it, because I think it is one of the most important initiatives in years. It’s a project that has been lacking for all the years I have been producing animated films – it’s a bit sad that the usual awards ceremonies have such few categories in which animation can be nominated," Bro says.
Animation needs to be recognised and celebrated in the same way that actors are at other awards ceremonies, the Danish initiator says.
"Animators are the actors of animated films. Like regular actors, they use their empathy, imagination, psychological acumen, musicality, sense of space, movement and timing to conjure unforgettable moments on the silver screen."
Facts
The members of the EAA are voting for the nominated animation projects and artists from 7-30 November, said Peter Lord, the association’s British president, at a London press conference on 6 November.
The European Animation Awards are supported by the Danish Film Institute. Apart from Marie Bro as board member, Denmark is represented by Simon Jon Andreasen of the National Film School and Lana Tankosa Nikolic of the Animation Workshop.
See all the nominees on the EAA website