European Film Awards

THE 28th EUROPEAN FILM AWARDSEUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2015: The Nominations

32 EUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILMEUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2015

France82 min.

Production & World Sales:Naïa Productions114, rue de Turenne75003 ParisFRANCEcontact@naia.protel: +33 1 40 09 14 77

Director’s statementWe live in a part of Paris where illegal immigrants come from Lampedusa and camp in the streets. Not an area recommended by guidebooks, yet it is where the different communities mix outside the apartment blocks.From a mixed culture, a combination of a French upbringing and teen years shaped by hip hop, we had to go South to understand just how influenced we had been by the heritage of African culture and how deeply our artistic roots lay in a song that had crossed the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, giving birth to gospel, blues, reggae and rap before turning into explosions of paint on the walls of New York, then of Paris.Profoundly affected by our experiences in Africa, we immediately agreed that the notions of looking, initiation and encounters were central. An encounter between two worlds: Africa and Europe; magic and hyperrealism; tradition and modernism. We wanted to imagine this subjective, mystical view of a world on the road to ruin.ADAMA is an invitation to see through new eyes a chapter in history we think we know. A deeply subjective inverted fable. An exploration by a child from “somewhere else” of our sick and self-destructive world which it attempts to re-enchant through poetry and magic.Like an initiatory trance, the film recounts Adama’s coming of age and reveals how he discovers his uniqueness, his identity, but also what connects him to everyone else, his very humanity.ADAMA is set in a specific period - the First World War - but it is not an historical film. It is a tale which along the way turns into an historical account. What is important for us is the contemporary resonance of Adama’s adventure. We know animation has the ability to connect audiences with the character’s innermost being, to make perceptible Adama’s changing view of the world, a world at war, which eventually gave rise to today’s society.

Simon RoubyBorn in 1980, Simon Rouby started out a spray can in hand before moving on to other art forms such as sculpture and painting. He studied filmmaking first at Les Gobelins art school, Paris, then at Calarts, Los Angeles. His films have been selected for many international festivals including Cannes, Clermont, San Diego, Bucharest, Ottawa and Taiwan.

12-year-old Adama lives in a remote West African village. Beyond the cliffs lies the World of Wind, where the Nassaras reign.One night his older brother Samba disappears.Defying the village elders, Adama decides to set off in search of him. With the steadfast determination of a child coming of age, he embarks on a quest that takes him over the seas, to the North, to the frontline of the First World War. The year is 1916.

www.ocean-films.com/adamaADAMADIRECTED BY: Simon RoubyWRITTEN BY: Julien Lilti & Simon RoubyPRODUCED BY: Philippe Aigle, Séverine Lathuillière, Daniel Goudineau, Azmina Goulamaly, Alain Séraphine & Lucien Chemla

COMPOSER: Pablo PicoANIMATION: Pierre Ducos & Bénédicte Galup

ADAMA

Festival Participation:Annecy Int’l Animation FF: Gan Foundation Aid for DistributionDonostia San Sebastian IFFHaifa IFFBFI London FFWarsaw FF

Simon Rouby

Filmography:2007 BLINDSPOT, short 2007 LE PRÉSAGE, short2010 LA MARCHE, short

Press: Bossa-NovaMichel Burstein32, Bd St Germain75005 ParisFRANCEbossanovapr@free.frtel: +33 1 43 26 26 26

54 EUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILMEUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2015

UK, France85 min.

Production:AardmanAnna LewisGasferry RoadBristol BS1 6UNUKanna.lewis@aardman.comtel: +44 117 307 1318

Richard Starzak Richard Starzak (aka Golly) joined Aardman in 1983 and during his first nine years with the studio is credited with working on MORPH, SLEDGEHAMMER for Peter Gabriel, PEE WEE HERMAN’S PLAYHOUSE in New York, his own film IDENT and two REX THE RUNT pilot films.In 1992, Golly left Aardman to pursue a freelance career during which time he worked in New Zealand as Production Adviser for OSCAR AND FRIENDS, and wrote and directed 13 episodes of REX THE RUNT for BBC Two, winning the Carlton Award for International Animation at The Indies in 2000.He then went on to direct ROBBIE THE REINDEER for BBC One. Robbie went on to win 19 international awards including a prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA).After writing and directing the second series of REX THE RUNT, and series 2 of CREATURE COMFORTS, Golly rejoined Aardman full time as Creative Director of the Broadcast and Development department going on to develop SHAUN THE SHEEP for television. For the last three years he has been working on SHAUN THE SHEEP THE MOVIE with fellow director Mark Burton.

Mark Burton Prior to co-writing and co-directing SHAUN THE SHEEP THE MOVIE, Mark has enjoyed a long history with Aardman having been a writer on both CHICKEN RUN (2000) and WALLACE AND GROMIT CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (2005), which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and a BAFTA for Best British Film. He has also acted as consultant for Aardman’s Feature Development team.Mark started out as a comedy writer on numerous British TV shows including SPOTTING IMAGE, ALAS SMITH AND JONES, CLIVE ANDERSON TALKS BACK and HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU. He co-wrote two series of BBC sitcom THE PETER PRINCIPLE and later adapted John O’Farrell’s novel “May Contain Nuts” for ITV.He has subsequently worked as a screenwriter on both sides of the Atlantic with projects for BBC Films, Working Title, Universal, Fox, Warners, Disney and DreamWorks. His other film credits include MADAGASCAR, GNOMEO & JULIET and ALIENS IN THE ATTIC.

Shaun is a clever, mischievous sheep who lives with his flock on Mossy Bottom Farm, under the nominal supervision of The Farmer, and Bitzer, a well-meaning but ineffectual sheepdog. Despite Shaun’s best efforts, life on the farm has got into a bit of a rut, and Shaun concocts a cunning plan - to have a day off.But be careful what you wish for. Events rapidly escalate out of control and Shaun’s mischief inadvertently leads to the hapless farmer being taken away from the farm. With the flock’s help, Shaun must leave the farm for the first time and travel into the Big City in order to rescue The Farmer - and failure is not an option.But how will the sheep survive? Can they avoid being recognised as sheep? And thus avoid the clutches of a fearsome animal catcher? In the course of an action-packed adventure they experience a host of wild, funny mishaps.And Shaun meets a little orphan dog called Slip who makes him realise that having a home and a family is not something to be taken for granted.

shaunthesheep.comSHAUN THE SHEEP THE MOVIEWRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Richard Starzak & Mark BurtonPRODUCED BY: Paul Kewley & Julie LockhartDIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Dave Alex Riddett & Charles CoppingEDITOR: Sim Evan-Jones

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Matt PerrySOUND DESIGNER: Adrian RhodesCOMPOSER: Ilan EshkeriANIMATION: Will Becher

SHAUN THE SHEEP THE MOVIE

Festival Participation:Anima Festival BrusselsAnima Mundi: Best Feature FilmAnnecy Int’l Animation FFBeijing IFFCartoon Movie: Best DirectorsHolland Animation FF Jeonju IFFJerusalem IFFSeattle IFFShanghai IFFSundance FF

Richard Starzak & Mark Burton

Press:STUDIOCANALKatie Paxton50 Marshall StreetLondon W1F 9BQUKkatie.paxton@studiocanal.co.uktel: +44 207 5342 700

76 EUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILMEUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2015

Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg93 min.

Production:Cartoon SaloonPaul YoungThe Maltings, Tilbury PlaceKilkenny R95 T97WIRELANDpaul@cartoonsaloon.ietel: +353 567 764 481

Tomm Moore Tomm Moore was born in Newry, Northern Ireland, and studied Animation at Ballyfermot College in Dublin. He co-founded the animation studio Cartoon Saloon and has written, produced, animated and directed short films and commercials. He directed the animated feature THE SECRET OF KELLS, which was nominated for both the European Film Awards and an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. SONG OF THE SEA is his second feature and he has directed a segment of Kahlil Gibran’s THE PROPHET.

SONG OF THE SEA tells the story of Ben and his little sister Saoirse – the last Seal-child – who embark on a fantastic journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological selkies of Irish folklore who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land.

SONG OF THE SEADIRECTED BY: Tomm MooreWRITTEN BY: William CollinsPRODUCED BY: Paul YoungEDITOR: Darragh Byrne

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Adrien MerigeauCOMPOSER: Bruno CoulaisANIMATION: Fabian Earlinghauser & Sean McCarron

SONG OF THE SEAFestival Participation:AFI Fest LA Beijing IFFBusan IFFGijon IFFHelsinki IFFHong Kong IFFBFI London FFMelbourne IFF: People’s Choice AwardNew York FFSarajevo FFShanghai IFF: Golden Goblet Sydney FFToronto IFF

IFTA for Best Film

Tomm Moore

World Sales: West End FilmsLucie Braverman5-7 Hillgate StreetLondon W8 7SPUKlucieb@westendfilms.comtel: +44 207 494 8300

Press:Cartoon SaloonDesiree MeadeThe Maltings, Tilbury PlaceKilkenny R95 T97WIRELANDdesiree.meade@cartoonsaloon.ietel: +353 567 764 481

Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy (EFA) now unites more than 3,000 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting European film culture. Throughout the year, the EFA initiates and participates in a series of activities dealing with film politics as well as economic, artistic, and training aspects. The programme includes conferences, seminars and workshops, and a common goal is to build a bridge between creativity and the industry. These activities culminate in the annual presentation of the European Film Awards.