Best European Animated Cartoon Movie 2010

Directors and companies from France, Belgium, Sweden, Spain and Poland have been nominated as finalists for Cartoon Movie 2010 Tributes, the awards for outstanding contribution to the development of European animation over the last year.

The winners will be selected by the animation professionals attending Cartoon Movie 2010, the co-production forum for European animated feature films, making the awards one of the industry's most prestigious and respected honors. Organized by CARTOON the European Association of Animation Film the prizewinners will be announced on 5 March at the Centre de Congres in Lyon, France.

In line with previous editions, Cartoon Movie Tributes will select the Best Director, Distributor and Producer of the Year. The list of nominees representing genres as varied as traditional tales, comedies and futuristic fiction and animation techniques ranging from stop-motion and 2D to stereoscopic 3D reflects the diversity and richness of European animation. Five of the six films nominated are co-productions between two or more European countries.

The list of the nominees includes:

Best European Director of the Year

• Stephane Aubier & Vincent Patar for "Panique au Village" (Belgium)
• Tarik Saleh for "Metropia" (Sweden)
• Dominique Monfery for "Eleanor's Secret" (France)

Best European Distributor of the Year

• Celluloid
• Dreams World Sales (France)
• KINO S´WIAT (Poland)
• Wild Bunch Distribution (France)

Best European Producer of the Year

• Ilion Animation Studios for "Planet 51" (Spain)
• Herold & Family for "The True Story of Puss'n Boots" (France)
• nWave Pictures for "Around the World in 50 Years" (Belgium)

In 2009, the big winner of the Cartoon Movie Tributes was the film "The Secret of Kells" a co-production between Ireland, France and Belgium recently nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film which took Best Director (Tomm Moore) and Best Producer (Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs and Vivi Film) awards. France's BAC Films was selected Best Distributor of the year.