‘Song of the Sea’ Moves Closer to Academy Awards® in Race for Oscars
‘Song of the Sea', the new feature film from Kilkenny-based animation studio Cartoon Saloon, moved one step closer to the Academy Awards® today having secured seven Annie Award nominations, the animation industry's Academy Award equivalent. The Annie Awards are one of the highest honours given for excellence in animation and are often a useful indicator of Oscar success in the Best Animated Film category.
The Irish animation industry was also represented in the Annie nominations with ‘Doc McStuffins' and ‘Peter Rabbit' both picking up nods in the pre-school television category, both of which are produced by Brown Bag Films for Disney and Nickelodeon. The Irish short film CODA, which has been long listed in the Best Short Film category for the Oscars, was also nominated in the short film section.
Commenting on the news James Hickey, Chief Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) said "Congratulation to all of the nominees. As the largest funder for Irish animation content in the country we are delighted to see the Irish animation industry receive so many international plaudits. Universally acclaimed by critics to date, "Song of the Sea" tells a beautiful story based on Irish mythology and children worldwide will have an opportunity to see the film as it is rolled out in cinemas across the globe over the next few months."
Directed by Tomm Moore, with development and production support from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB), ‘Song of the Sea' is Cartoon Saloon's follow-up to the Academy Award®-nominated feature ‘The Secret of Kells' and features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, Lisa Hannigan and music from Kíla. The film was nominated in seven categories including the most competitive categories of Best Film, Script, Director and Music.
Produced by Ciarán Deeney, CODA tells the story of a lost soul who stumbles drunkenly through Dublin city. In a park, death finds him and shows him many things. Alan Holly whose previous short film, Old Fangs, which he co-directed, was selected for Sundance Film Festival. The film was produced under the Frameworks animation scheme which was funded by the IFB, RTÉ and the Arts Council.
The winners of the 42nd Annual Annie Awards will be announced on Saturday, January 31st, 2015 at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA. For more about the Annie Awards visit www.annieawards.org.