For the third consecutive year, animation films from the Nordic region will come in force at the annual Cartoon Movie even in Lyon, France (March 7-9, 2012). 13 of the 55 projects pitched at the European co-production and co-financing forum are Nordic and seven of them received support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
One of those Nordic animation films -Denmark's 3D Ronal the Barbarian by Philip Einstein Lipski and Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen (Einstein Film) is competing for the European Director of the Year, alongside the French animation films A Monster in Paris and Zarafa.
The other completed Nordic animation film that will screen at Cartoon Movie is Iceland's 3D film Legends of Valhalla-Thor, winner of two Edda film awards. Projects in production that will be submitted to the 180 international buyers in attendance are Marco Macaco, the CG animated debut feature film of Denmark's Jan Rahbek (2008 Nordic Talents Winner) and Niko 2-Family Affairs, sequel to the Finnish hit Niko & the Way to the Stars, both set to open later this year in their respective territory.
Four projects in development (including Beyond Beyond by the director of The Great Bear Esben Toft Jacobsen) and another four in concept will be looking for co-financiers and co-producers.
Cartoon Movie has identified several trends within European animation.
Stereoscopic 3D projects are on the increase, with 40% of all projects selected using the technology, twice the 2011 volume. This trend is reflected in the Nordic line up with seven projects made in stereoscopic 3D. In terms of content, European animation seems to shift towards adult-oriented subjects, and literature and comics remain a strong source of inspiration, with Nordic projects using materials from authors like Leena Krohn, Kjell Aukrust and Gunilla Bergström.