50 selected projects for Cartoon Movie 2012
Fifty animated feature projects at various development stages from 17 countries will be pitched at Cartoon Movie 2012 to secure financing, co-producers, and distributors. European animation has not only taken a definitive leap to 3D, which accounts for half of the projects, but also moved decisively towards stereoscopic 3D, with 40% of the projects conceived to be made in this technology, doubling last year's figure.
France, which remains the region's powerhouse, will be represented with 19 projects, among them Le tableau by animation veteran Jean-François Laguionie and Zarafa, which opens at the Berlin Film Festival.
The Nordic countries, led by Denmark, are well represented with 13 films, Belgium with four, and Germany and Greece are also represented. This year's projects have a global budget of 291.2 million EUR, with an average cost of 5.8 million EUR for each film.
The trend of adult-skewed films in European animation is on the rise: 20% of the selected projects target an adult audience and tackle politically sensitive or mature subjects.
Wrinkles [review], the Spanish Alzheimer's disease story, is among those projects. Other projects include the Angolan civil war and its child soldiers ("Another Day of Life"), World War I ("Cafard"), Nazism in the biopic of a boxing champion ("Young Perez"), child neglect ("It's a Zucchini's Life", "The Island of Lost Children"), and the story of life on Earth ("Alpha").
Literature and comics remain a strong source of inspiration, with some of this year's projects based on adaptations and screenplays from writers such as Ryszard Kapuscinski, Jacques Prévert, Gilles Paris, Jean-François Beauchemin, Leena Krohn, Gunilla Bergström and Kjell Aukrust as well as on award-winning graphic novels by authors like Enki Bilal and Arthur de Pins - who will direct their films themselves -, Paco Roca and Jens Harder.
This year in Lyon, some well-known TV animated series will also make their leap to the big screen, including "The Triplets" from Spain, "Alfie Atkins" from Sweden, and Belgium's "Pic Pic André Shoow". Cartoon Movie 2012 will also showcase projects that strive for aesthetic and narrative innovation in animation.
The 14th edition of Cartoon Movie will take place in Lyon from 7 to 9 March 2012. Visit the official site
