©CARTOON – from left to right – Producer of the Year: A. Chef, A-L. Guégan, A. Degyse & S. Onomo for „Allah is not obliged“ – Distributor of the Year: E. Chevalier (Les Films du Préeau – FR) – Director of the Year: R. Memari for „The Last Whale Singer“
CARTOON MOVIE TRIBUTES WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN BORDEAUX
European animation celebrates its latest achievements at Cartoon Movie, the pitching and co-production forum dedicated to European animated features, which concludes its 28th edition today in Bordeaux. Voted by the industry professionals attending the event, the Cartoon Tributes recognise the companies and individuals whose work has made a significant impact on the European animation industry over the previous year.
Cartoon Movie Tributes 2026 winners:
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Producer of the Year: Special Touch Studios (France) / Paul Thiltges Distributions Luxembourg) / Lunanime (Belgium) / Need Productions (Belgium) / Yzanakio (Canada) for “Allah Is Not Obliged”.
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Distributor of the Year: Les Films du Préau (France).
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Director of the Year: Reza Memari for “The Last Whale Singer” (Germany).
The Producer of the Year prize went to France’s Special Touch Studios, Luxembourg’s Paul Thiltges Distributions, Belgium’s Lunanime & Need Productions, and Canada’s Yzanakio for “Allah Is Not Obliged”, Zaven Najjar’s feature debut. Starring a Guinean orphan forced to become a child soldier, the film was presented in development at Cartoon Movie 2018, had its world premiere at the Annecy Film Festival, and was released in cinemas across France on March 4.
Meanwhile, the Distributor of the Year award went to Paris-based Les Films du Préau, an independent film distribution company focused on high-quality films for young audiences. Founded in 2000 by Emmanuelle Chevalier and Marie-Agnès Bourillon, the company boasts a diverse catalogue of more than 200 titles, including “Living Large”, “The Gruffalo” and “Petite Casbah”.
The Director of the Year award was presented to Reza Memari for “The Last Whale Singer”, his second feature after “Richard the Stork”. An animated fantasy for family audiences, the film follows Vincent, the orphaned son of the last Whale Singer, who must overcome his fears and discover his own voice to help save the oceans. Presented at Cartoon Movie at different stages – from concept in 2018 to development in 2020 and production in 2025 – Memari’s new work is a co-production between Germany, the Czech Republic and Canada that has already been sold in more than 30 international territories.
Also among the nominees were Folimage, Les Armateurs, Lunanime, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Will Production, JPL Films, Dragons Films, Pictanovo and TNZPV Productions for “The Songbirds’ Secret”; Gringo Films, Fabrique d’Images, Senator Film Produktion and Traumhaus Studios for “Stitch Head”; and MAUR film, Vivement Lundi !, Artichoke and ZVVIKS for “Tales from the Magic Garden” in the Producer of the Year category. In the Director of the Year category, the nominees were Irene Iborra Rizo for “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake”, Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han for “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”, and Ugo Bienvenu for “Arco”. For Distributor of the Year, the nominees were Flins y Pinículas (Spain) and Kino Mediteran (Croatia).
About Cartoon Movie
Since its first edition in 1999, 513 films have been financially supported by Cartoon Movie with a total budget of €3,42 billion. Organised by CARTOON, Cartoon Movie is an annual forum aimed at strengthening the production and distribution of animated feature films in Europe. The event has the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA, CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, Magelis, Creative industries hub in Angoulême, and France Télévisions.
CARTOON – European Association of Animation Film is an international non-profit association based in Brussels that organises Cartoon Movie, together with Cartoon Forum, a co-production forum for animated TV series, and the training seminars CartoonNext, Cartoon Springboard, and Cartoon Business.
CARTOON Director: Annick Maes
In his artist’s statement, Seth highlights the creative kinship between comics and animation. “Graphic novelists and animators are related, but they come from very different branches of the cartooning family,” he said. “My medium is all about stillness, and animation is all about movement … I have the deepest respect for the noble calling of animation in all its various forms, and it is a lovely honour to draw this year’s poster.”
