Cartoon Forum Tributes selects Awards nominees

By Ryan Tuchow

September 6, 2023

Cartoon Forum has unveiled 12 nominees for its annual Cartoon Forum Tributes awards, with a London-based company notably making the list now that the UK’s eligibility has been restored.

The event’s 1,000-odd attendees will vote onsite to determine this year’s winners for Broadcaster of the Year, Investor/Distributor of the Year and Producer of the Year, which will be announced on September 21. 

France cornered the most nominations, with producers Blue Spirit Productions (Alice & Lewis) and GO-N Productions (Simon Super Rabbit) and distributor APC Kids all shortlisted. 

And a significant nomination went to London-based Serious Kids in the Investor/Distributor category. In the wake of Brexit and the UK’s withdrawal from Creative Europe, British companies have been ineligible for consideration and unable to pitch at the event since 2021. But this year, Cartoon Forum is welcoming the country’s producers back to its event program with a 90-minute Animated UK Meets Europe showcase in which five projects will pitch to potential European co-pro partners. 

In recent years, kids producers from the UK have faced daunting domestic challenges including local broadcasters commissioning fewer kids projects and the government ending the BFI’s Young Audiences Content Fund, which supported the development of more than 140 kids projects. Having a chance to attract and secure international co-pro partners, financing and broadcasters could be a major boon to some Brit studios. 

This year’s Cartoon Forum will feature 77 series from 16 European countries. Collectively, these projects have a combined budget of US$426 million and represent 479 hours of potential new content.  

In 2022, Germany’s KiKA won Broadcaster of the Year, Spain’s Goldbee was named Investor/Distributor of the Year, and Peakaboo Animation (also based in Spain) took home the Producer of the Year prize. 

Here’s a full list of this year’s Cartoon Forum Tribute nominees. 

BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

LRT (Lithuania)
Minimax (Hungary)
RTP (Portugal)
Super RTL (Germany)

INVESTOR/DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

APC Kids (France)
DeAPlaneta Entertainment (Spain)
Monster Entertainment (Ireland)
Serious Kids (UK)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Blue Spirit Productions (France)
Gigglebug Entertainment (Finland)
GO-N Productions (France)
Thuristar (Belgium)

Pictured is French studio GO-N Productions’ Annette, Apprentice Witch, which it’s presenting at Cartoon Forum.