There is a strong Irish presence at the Annecy International Animation Festival and Market (MIFA) with Irish productions ‘Santa’s Apprentice ‘and ‘The Octonauts’ screening in the official competition.
Kilkenny based Cartoon Saloon latest feature ‘Santa’s Apprentice’ and Brown Bag Films’ ‘The Octonauts’ are both being screened at the prestigious Annecy Festival which is taking place from the 6th-11th June in France.
Directed by Luc Vincinguerra and written by Alexandre Reverend, ‘Santa’s Apprentice’ tells the story of a reluctant Santa who must retire and find an apprentice to replace him. The film is a co-production between Gaumont-Alphanim (France), Avrill Stark Entertainment (Australia) and Irish company Cartoon Salon, which produced the 2010 Oscar nominated feature animation ‘The Secret of Kells’. ‘Santa’s Apprentice’ was funded by the IFB, Flying Bark Productions, Orange Cinema Series, Centre National de la Cinematographie et de l’Image Animee, Departement de la Charente & de la Region Poitou-Charentes and MEDIA.
Brown Bag Films ‘The Octonauts’, directed by Darragh O’Connell will also be screened at the Annecy Festival. The IFTA nominated series has aired on Cbeebies in the UK and will air in the US in early 2012 on the Disney Channel. It was produced by Darragh O’Connell and Cathal Gaffney of Brown Bag Films along with Chorion, Kurt Mueller, Stephanie Simpson, Vicki Wong and Mickael Murphy. Brown Bag Films were also nominated for an Academy Award for their short animation ‘Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty’ in 2010.
The Irish Film Board and Enterprise Ireland are also launching a new Irish animation promotion at the festival which will showcase work from the Irish animation sector to the international audience at the festival. Chief Executive of Brown Bag Films Cathal Gaffney will deliver a key note speech at this event. Other Irish animation companies in attendance at the festival include A Man & Ink, Barley Films and Kavaleer.
Annecy Animation Festival was founded in 1960 and is the world’s largest event focused entirely on animation, big players from the animation industry including Pixar and Disney. The Annecy Film Festival takes place 6th – 10th June while MIFA takes place 8th-10th June in Annecy, France.
More at www.annecy.org
