KiKA, TF1 and DR Sales Among Cartoon Tribute Nominees
Germany’s KiKA, France’s TF1 and Denmark’s DR Sales figure among the best-known of contenders for the 2022 Cartoon Tributes, awarded for outstanding achievement in Europe’s TV animation industry.
France, followed by Spain, dominates Cartoon’s three categories of broadcaster, investor/distributor and producer of the year, which will be voted on by the about 1,000 delegates at this year’s Cartoon Forum, which takes place in Toulouse, Southern France, over Sept. 19-22. Award winners will be announced on Sept. 22.
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Backed by German public broadcast giants ARD and ZDF, KiKa figures as Germany’s biggest kids connect provider. But it will face tough competition from TF1 Unité Jeunesse, the children’s arm of giant French broadcast network TF1 whose kids slot TFOU broadcasts 70 hours of programming a year.
Competing for distributor of the year DR Sales, the international sales arm of Denmark’s public broadcaster, weighs in as a top Nordic distributor of high-quality storytelling’s whose titles include “Team Nuggets” and “John Dillermand.”
France’s four nominations include two for producer of the year, one for Normaal, which mixes adaptations of pop classics such as “Peanuts” with original works such as “Peanuts” and “Ella,” and another for Paris-based Watch Next Media (“Dungeons & Kittens,” “Wild Kat”). They face off in the same category with Polands Letko, a 2D animation studio presenting Happy Go Lucky at this year’s Forum and Spain’s Peekaboo Animation, behind “I, Elvis Riboldi,” “My Little Heroes” and “Mironins.” Peekaboo will present project “Best Friends Forever… Stranded!” This year in Toulouse.
The rise of Spain’s an animation power may provide one of Cartoon Forum’s central narratives this year.
A second Spanish company, Barcelona’s GoldBee, which distributes 2,500 half-hour programs, faces off for best investor/distributor with Italy’s KidsMe, which focuses on local and European content for kids & family target, and Nathan Universe Jeunesse, Editions Nathan, a publisher of books adapted into hit TV series such as “Azur & Asmar.”
These days, animation can come from anywhere. So broadcaster nominees also take into Slovakian public broadcaster RTVS, which features animated series such as “Dounia.”
The streaming revolution is also reflected in the nominations, Tribes Medias Glitch, billed as the world’s first adult animation SVOD platform, making the cut of broadcaster nominees.
2022 Cartoon Tribute Nominees:
Broadcaster of the Year
Glitch (The Netherlands)
KiKA (Germany)
Radio And Television of Slovakia – RTVS (Slovakia)
TF1 Unité Jeunesse (France)
Investor/Distributor of the Year
DR Sales (Denmark)
GoldBee (Spain)
KidsMe (Italy)
Nathan Universe Jeunesse (France)
Producer of the Year
Letko (Poland)
Normaal (France)
Peekaboo Animation (Spain)
Watch Next Media (France)
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