Nominations for European Animated Films Revealed.
The European Film Academy revealed the 5 nominees for best animated feature at this year’s European Film Awards.
The 2024 animated nominees are Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow, a silent eco-fable about a cat joining forces with other animals to survive a flood; Living Large by Kristina Dufková, a coming-of-age story about a talented 12-year-old boy in the kitchen; Savages by Claude Barras, a drama set in Borneo addressing deforestation and a lost baby orangutan; Isabel Herguera’s Sultana’s Dream, following a Spanish artist’s quest for a female utopia; and They Shot the Piano Player by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, a tribute to Francisco Tenório Júnior, a prominent figure in the Brazilian music scene who disappeared in 1976.
All 5 nominees are also up for the top prize of best European film after the academy’s decision to include animation and documentary films in the category for the first time.
The nominees showcase a variety of animation styles — Flow in 3D computer design, Savages and Living Large in claymation, and Sultana’s Dream and They Shot the Piano Player in hand-drawn artistry — representing different nationalities. Zilbalodis is Latvian, Dufková Czech, and Barras Swiss. Herguera, Trueba, and Mariscal are Spanish.
The nominees have received critical acclaim. Flow and Sultana’s Dream won awards at the Annecy animation festival this year. Savages premiered at Cannes, and They Shot the Piano Player — featuring Jeff Goldblum’s voice —debuted in Toronto last year.
Last year’s European Film Awards winner for animated feature, Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, unexpectedly received an Oscar nomination.
The full nominations for the European Film Awards will be announced on November 5. The 2024 European Film Awards ceremony will take place on December 7 in Lucerne, Switzerland.