About Cartoon Movie

Created in 1999, Cartoon Movie is an intense and efficient pitching event intended to create a synergy between producers, investors and distributors of feature-length animation films.

Producers have the opportunity to pitch their project to all potential financial partners gathered in the same room, in order to find co-producers, speed up financing and negotiate deals with distributors, sales agents and game companies.

Cartoon Movie Call for Projects

WHO CAN PRESENT A PROJECT?

European

• Any European producer whose registered office is located in a country associated with Creative Europe MEDIA can present a new animation project at Cartoon Movie.Countries associated with Creative Europe - MEDIA: the 27 EU countries + Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway and Republic of Serbia.
• CARTOON also considers eligible projects submitted by production companies based in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
• Attention: since the Brexit, the UK is not part of the eligible countries. Projects submitted by UK-based production companies as main producers are not eligible.
• Please note that:
  - Only independent production companies can submit a project.
  - Production teams of selected projects must afford registration fees to Cartoon Movie.
  - At least 1 representative from the main production company must attend the event.
  
  

WHICH PROJECT CAN BE SUBMITTED?

• Only 1 animated film per company can be submitted. If you have submitted a film in sneak preview, you're allowed to submit a second project in another category.
• An animation film (minimum 50% animation) of a minimum running time of 60 minutes
• Cinema quality
• Intended for theatrical distribution
• All new animation techniques are accepted

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USAGE POLICY

• At CARTOON, we reaffirm our commitment to transparency and responsibility in the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Our fundamental principles are artistic integrity, the appreciation of human creativity, and transparency.
  We require project representatives to declare the use of AI and specify the areas it applies to, ensuring a clear understanding of the works presented and strengthening trust between creators, partners, and audiences

LETTER OF INTEREST
Each project must be accompanied by a written statement of interest from a distributor, a sales agent, or a streamer attesting to their interest in the project (optional for the projects in concept).

Registration fees for selected projects (excluding VAT): 950 EUR

• Regulations
• Toolbox
• Application
• Deadline: 12 November 2025

CARTOON TRIBUTES

2013: At the 15th Cartoon Movie in Lyon, more than 700 attending animation professionals selected the Cartoon Movie Tribute winners. Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman Animations, was named European Director of the Year for 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits', ahead of fellow nominees Enzo d'Alò and Michel Ocelot. France's TF1 International received European Distributor of the Year, reflecting its growing involvement with animated features including 'The Rabbi's Cat', 'Santa's Magic Crystal' and 'Aya of Yop City'. Les Armateurs, headed by Didier Brunner, was named European Producer of the Year, following a period that included Michel Ocelot's 'Kirikou and the Men and Women' and the César-winning 'Ernest & Celestine'. A separate Rhône-Alpes Personality of the Year distinction went to Benjamin Renner, co-director of 'Ernest & Celestine'. The awards formed part of a Cartoon Movie edition presenting 56 animated feature projects from 20 European countries

2014: At Cartoon Movie, the team behind 'Minuscule – Valley of the Lost Ants' received European Director of the Year, Belgian studio Walking the Dog was named Producer of the Year, and Le Pacte received Distributor of the Year. The nominations themselves reflected an increasingly international European feature-animation sector, where co-production and specialist distribution were central to bringing independent films to audiences.

2015: Director Rémi Chayé, then presenting 'Long Way North', was named Director of the Year; German company Ulysses Filmproduktion received Producer of the Year for work including 'Ooops! Noah Is Gone...'; and Spain's Karma Films was recognized as Distributor of the Year. The wider nominee list demonstrated the diversity of European animation production, with companies and filmmakers from France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and elsewhere represented.

2017: Cartoon Movie's nominees included some of the period's most internationally visible European features. Jean-François Laguionie, Michael Dudok de Wit and Claude Barras were among the directors nominated, associated respectively with 'Louise by the Shore', 'The Red Turtle' and 'My Life as a Zucchini'. The awards highlighted not simply successful films but the directors, producers and distributors responsible for sustaining Europe's feature-animation ecosystem.

2018: At Cartoon Movie, the team behind 'The Breadwinner'—Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo and Tomm Moore—was recognized as Director of the Year, while Poland's Platige Image became Producer of the Year and French company Gebeka Films Distributor of the Year. Later that year at Cartoon Forum, Finland's YLE was named Broadcaster of the Year, Canada's 9 Story Distribution International Investor/Distributor of the Year, and France's Folimage Producer of the Year. Major streaming platforms such as Netflix were among the nominees.

2019:  Spanish filmmaker Salvador Simó, director of 'Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles', was named Director of the Year; French company Autour de Minuit received Producer of the Year; and Paris-based Charades was selected as Distributor of the Year. The nominee pool included companies and filmmakers connected with a wide range of European productions, reinforcing Cartoon Movie's function as both a financing/co-production forum and a celebration of the professionals responsible for bringing European animated features into production and circulation.

2020:  At the 22nd Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, the Cartoon Tributes continued to recognize European animation professionals in three categories, with the winners voted for by Cartoon Movie participants. Zabou Breitman and Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec were named European Directors of the Year for 'The Swallows of Kabul', their adaptation of Yasmina Khadra's novel, which had premiered at Cannes and subsequently competed at Annecy. Belgian company Lumière received Distributor of the Year, reflecting its work distributing European films including 'I Lost My Body', 'Funan' and 'Phantom Boy'. The Producer of the Year award went jointly to Xilam Animation and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma for Jérémy Clapin's 'I Lost My Body'. Two of the three 2020 Tributes therefore went to French professionals or organizations, with Belgium taking the distribution award

2023: The Cartoon Tributes returned at the 25th Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, recognizing achievements in European feature animation during the previous year. Four directing teams or filmmakers were nominated for European Director of the Year: Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre for 'Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be', Áron Gauder for 'Four Souls of Coyote', Mascha Halberstad for 'OINK', and José Miguel Ribeiro for 'Nayola'. The Distributor/Sales Agent nominees were I Wonder Pictures, KMBO, Pink Parrot Media and Rosebud.21, while the Producer category highlighted the international co-production teams behind 'No Dogs or Italians Allowed', 'The Amazing Maurice', 'Titina' and 'Unicorn Wars'. 

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NB: 2027 Event Dates are tentative