Manchester Animation Festival Announces Nominees
Manchester Animation Festival, the UK's biggest annual animation event is just around the corner. With the festival just weeks away, the nominees have been announced for the Industry Excellence Awards. The awards are given out alongside the festival's Film Awards and are designed to celebrate the excellent work done by the everyday animation heroes working tirelessly to create the animation that we love.
Leading the pack is Ireland's Cartoon Saloon scoring six nominations for My Father's Dragon (Netflix), Lupus Films receiving three nominations for Kensuke's Kingdom (BFI), Hanna Barbera scoring two nominations for The Heroic Adventures of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe (Cartoon Network) and Magic Light Pictures receiving two nominations for Pip and Posy (Sky) and The Smeds and The Smoos (BBC).
The annual Industry Excellence awards will recognise individuals working in the industry in the fields of writing, storyboarding, character design and character animation. The winners will be announced as part of the 2023 MAF Awards Ceremony.
The nominees are as follows:
Scriptwriting
• Sam Morrison, Studio AKA for Hey Duggee: The Action Hero Badge (Cbeebies & BBC Studios)
• Frank Cottrell-Boyce for Kensuke’s Kingdom (BFI, FILM FUND LUXEMBOURG, LUPUS FILMS, KENSUKE’S KINGDOM, JIGSAW FILMS, MELUSINE PRODUCTIONS, LE PACTE, BUMPYBOX, FFILM CYMRU WALES, CREATIVE WALES)
• Alex Collier for Lloyd of the Flies – Flyweight (Aardman)
• Meg LeFauve for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
• Ishai Ravid for ODO (Sixteen South/Letko)
• Neeraja Raj for She Creates Change (Room to Read)
Storyboarding
• Richard Fawdry for Kensuke’s Kingdom (BFI, FILM FUND LUXEMBOURG, LUPUS FILMS, KENSUKE’S KINGDOM, JIGSAW FILMS, MELUSINE PRODUCTIONS, LE PACTE, BUMPYBOX, FFILM CYMRU WALES, CREATIVE WALES)
• Eleonora Trapani for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
• Kayvon Darabi-Fard for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
• Lizzie Houldsworth for Star Trek Playmobil Bird-of-Prey (Playmobil)
Character Design
• Kristian Andrews for Be the Early Bird (Scottish Government; Leith creative agency)
• Rosa Ballester-Cabo for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
• Diego Glez Malato for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe (Hanna Barbera Studios Europe)
• Tom Angell for The Sound Collector (ITV)
Character Animation
• Peter Dodd for Kensuke’s Kingdom (BFI, FILM FUND LUXEMBOURG, LUPUS FILMS, KENSUKE’S KINGDOM, JIGSAW FILMS, MELUSINE PRODUCTIONS, LE PACTE, BUMPYBOX, FFILM CYMRU WALES, CREATIVE WALES)
• Rohit Kelkar for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
• Geoff King for My Father’s Dragon (Netflix)
• Gianluca Tieghi for Pip and Posy (A MAGIC LIGHT PICTURES PRODUCTION, SKY TELEVISION, CHANNEL FIVE, ZDF)
• Freddie Elsom for The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe (Hanna Barbera Studios Europe)
• Kristine Larsen for The Smeds and The Smoos (Magic Light Pictures)
The festival has also announced the speaker for its Keynote at its Animation Nation Forum ( formerly known as Industry Day). The animation keynote is the festival's annual opportunity to hear in depth from an industry leader.
This year, the speaker is Orion Ross, vice president, International Animation, Disney Branded Television at The Walt Disney Company. As part of Disney Branded Television, Ross and his UK-based team develop and produce animated series for Disney's global channels and platforms including Disney Plus. His team concentrate on projects originating outside the US and in collaboration with independent studios and artists. Recent and upcoming projects include the Disney+ Originals Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Chip ’n’ Dale: Park Life, The Doomies, Magicampers, Dragon Striker and The Sunnyridge 3,
Orion Ross says "I’m honoured to be invited to speak at the Animation Nation Forum, and look forward to sharing some case studies of how Disney is working in the UK now on global series and discussing the evolving opportunities for the UK’s rich and unique ecosystem of animation creators, writers, artists, studios and producers to play a leading role in making new global hits.”
In addition to the previously announced panels and events, the festival will also hold The State Of The Animation Nation roundtable. Joining the panel will be: Lucy Murphy (Director of Kids Content, Sky), Emma Turner (Head of Film, Animation and Future Skills, ScreenSkills), Kate O’Connor (Executive Chair, Animation UK), Courtney Arumugam (Executive Producer, The LEGO Group) and Tom Judd (Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director, Animade).
Manchester Animation Festival runs from 12-17 November. The full program and tickets can be found at the festival website.
