Event Description:
Paying homage to the pioneers of European Animation, Émile Reynaud and Émile Cohl, the European Animation Awards Association (EAA) was founded to honor and celebrate the importance and quality of European Animation. Great animated films come from talented authors and skillful artists.  The Emile Awards 2026 award ceremony will be held on 28 October 2026 in Krakow, Poland, during the Etiuda & Anima Festival.  The 2026 nominees will be announced in August 2026.

European Animation Awards History

2015 — The idea of a European animation award emerges
The project was publicly announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2015 under the working name European Animation Pride Awards. Inspired partly by the Annie Awards, the initiative aimed to create a Europe-wide professional award that recognized not only completed films but also individual artistic and technical contributions—including direction, character design, editing, voice work and other aspects of animation production. 

The initial team included Didier Brunner, Olivier Catherin, Jean-Paul Commin and Denis Walgenwitz. The organizers envisaged an association whose membership would encompass the breadth of the animation sector: filmmakers, students, technicians, writers, producers, distributors, broadcasters and investors. Members would form the voting body. At this early stage, approximately fifteen categories covering shorts, features, television series and video games were envisaged, with the first ceremony targeted for late 2017.

2017 — The European Animation Awards and the first Emile Awards
By 2017 the project had developed into the European Animation Awards (EAA), with its prizes named the Emile Awards, in tribute to animation pioneers Émile Reynaud and Émile Cohl. Aardman co-founder Peter Lord became the organization's first president, and the initiative presented itself as a pan-European organization involving animation professionals from around 40 countries. 

Its objective was distinctive: rather than simply rewarding a best feature or short, the Emiles sought to recognize the different crafts involved in animation. The inaugural scheme comprised 16 categories, encompassing student and commissioned films, animated shorts, television/broadcast productions and features, with awards for direction, design, character animation, writing, storyboard and soundtrack. The Emiles also took over the European short-film distinction previously associated with Cartoon d'Or. 

The voting structure was conceived as a professional peer award. Juries of animation professionals first selected three nominees in each category; afterward, members of the EAA association voted online to determine the winners. Eligibility extended across a broad geographical definition of Europe, while short and graduation-film eligibility was connected to selection or awards at a network of established European animation festivals.  The first Emile Awards ceremony took place on 8 December 2017 at the Nouveau Siècle in Lille, France.

2018 — The second edition
The Emile Awards returned to Lille in December 2018 for their second edition. The 2018 celebrations ran across 7–8 December, combining the awards ceremony with screenings, four conferences and masterclasses. The ceremony attracted approximately 1,200 spectators, and 19 trophies were awarded from 90 final nominations. The 2018 edition also incorporated the Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award, named after the pioneering German silhouette animator. British animation programmer and historian Clare Kitson received the distinction in 2018. 

2019 — An ambitious third edition is announced, then canceled
At Annecy in June 2019, the organization announced a third edition for 6 December 2019 in Lille. The planned 2019 edition expanded the awards to 19 categories. A new Best Character Animation in a Short Film award increased the number of short-film categories from two to three. Some terminology was simplified: 'Best Background and Character Design' became 'Best Design', while the former TV/Broadcast categories were renamed Series categories. Voting rules were also adjusted so members could abstain from individual categories without invalidating their ballots. 

Entries were scheduled to run from 15 July to 30 September, voting from 18 October to 30 November, and the nominees were to be announced at a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgia. The association was simultaneously expanding membership opportunities for animation students and developing year-round 'Ask Me Anything' sessions with filmmakers such as Nora Twomey. But on 22 July 2019, the EAA announced that it had postponed the December ceremony indefinitely because of financial difficulties;  an unsuccessful application for Creative Europe MEDIA funding, combined with an unexpected lack of support from several industry sponsors, had created the shortfall. The organization nevertheless stated that it intended to continue and hoped to return in 2020

2021–2023 — The hiatus
The interruption became a prolonged hiatus. There were no Emile Awards ceremonies in 2021, 2022 or 2023.

2024-2026 — The Emile Awards return
After five years without a ceremony, the European Animation Awards were revived. The third actual edition of the Emile Awards took place on 23 September 2024 at the historic Apollon Municipal Theatre in Ermoupolis, Syros, Greece, in partnership with the ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival. The revival continued in 2025, when the fourth edition moved to Tallinn, Estonia, in association with the Black Nights Film Festival/PÖFF Shorts. The ceremony took place at Cinema Sõprus on 16 November 2025. 

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