American Film Market Dailies

The Association wishes to express this quote by Mark Twain: “They did not know it was impossible so they did it”.

Gathered in Paris for the constituent General Assembly, hosted at and in the presence of the CNC, the founders (Didier Brunner, Olivier Catherin, Jean-Paul Commin, and Denis Walgenwitz) and the first members announced the creation of an association, the “European Animation Pride Awards”.

More than 10 European countries and over 30 participants, all professionals in the craft of animation, are either present or represented and have shown strong interest in this project, as it was presented at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June.

The purpose of the E.A.P.A is to organize an annual awards ceremony, voted on by an assembly of European animation professionals, to celebrate the expertise, the quality, and the diversity of the productions of such caliber, whether they’re feature films or other forms of media.

The Board of Directors elected at this meeting consists of: Peter Lord (director/producer, Aardman, United Kingdom) as President, Jean-Paul Commin (consultant and former producer/distributor, France) as General Secretary, Marie Bro (producer, Dansk Tegnefilm, Denmark), Didier Brunner (producer, Folivari, Vice President of the film association SPFA, France) and Paul Young (producer, Cartoon Saloon, Ireland) as Co-Chairs, and Ton Crone (director of the VNAP, Association of Dutch Animation Producers, the Netherlands) as Treasurer. The other members of the Board are Olivier Catherin (director of Noranim, France), Doris Cloven (director of Anima Festival, Belgium), Juan Carlos Concha (director/producer, Apeman Studio, Spain), Fabrice Fouquet (director/storyboarder, President of Agraf, France), Odile Perrin (coordinator, Gobelins School of the Image, France), Stephan Roelants (producer, Melusine productions, Luxembourg), Michael Rose (producer, Magic Light Pictures, United Kingdom), Luc Toutounghi (producer, Se-Ma-For, Poland), Denis Walgenwitz (director and President of  the AFCA, France).

The President of the Association, Peter Lord, said for this occasion, “As professionals working in Europe in the great, inclusive and multi-faceted world of animation, we can and should feel pride every day to be involved in such a dynamic industry. What a wonderful idea it is, then, to make that pride in our profession as public as possible through this new initiative - the European Animation Pride Awards. In all its forms, in all its marketplaces and across all media, European animation leads both technically and artistically and I welcome this opportunity to celebrate its scope and diversity.”