European Film Awards 2019: Four Animated Features Nominated
The European Film Awards’s pre-selection committee has announced the nominees in the animated feature category. The winner will be announced at the ceremony on December 7 in Berlin, Germany.
The nominees are:
- Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles — Directed by Salvador Simó (Spain/Netherlands)
- I Lost My Body — Directed by Jérémy Clapin (France)
- Marona’s Fantastic Tale — Directed by Anca Damian (France/Romania/Belgium)
- The Swallows of Kabul — Directed by Zabou Breitman and Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec (France/Luxembourg/Switzerland)
The list isn’t much of a surprise — all four films have been performing well at festivals — but it is notable for featuring more female directors (three) than male (two). Given the scarcity of animated features helmed by women, this is highly unusual.
I Lost My Body, which won a prize at Cannes Critics’ Week and two at Annecy, is the film to beat. Meanwhile, all four films also qualified in this year’s Oscar race.
The EFA winner is voted on by the European Film Academy, which has over 3,600 members. Recent winners in the category include Another Day of Life (2018), Loving Vincent (2017), My Life as a Courgette (2016), Song of the Sea (2015), and The Art of Happiness (2014).
The pre-selection committee was made up of Antonio Saura, EFA board deputy chairman; Graziella Bildesheim, EFA board member; Paul Young, producer at Cartoon Saloon; Stéphane Dreyfus, film critic (and Cartoon Brew contributor); producer Kristine M. I. Knudsen; and director Janno Põldma.
Additionally, in the category of European short film, five of the 20 shortlisted films are animated:
- Cadavre Exquis — Directed by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy (France)
- (Fool Time) Job — Directed by Gilles Cuvelier (France)
- Edna — One of Many — Directed by Vuk Mitevski (North Macedonia)
- Egg — Directed by Martina Scarpelli (France)
- The Marvelous Misadventures of the Stone Lady — Directed by Gabriel Abrantes (France/Portugal)
