Yúl and the Snake by Gabriel Harel Wins Cartoon d’Or 2016
The 2016 Cartoon d’Or has been awarded to “Yúl and the Snake” first short film of French director Gabriel Harel. The award ceremony was celebrated on Thursday 15 September in the Auditorium Saint-Pierre des Cuisines of Toulouse and the jury was composed of producer Clément Calvet (Superprod, France), director Mark Burton (Aardman Animations, United Kingdom), and director Alessandro Rak (MAD Entertainment, Italy).
Produced by Kazak Productions, this 2D animation film received the André Martin Award Distinction at Annecy in 2015 and was selected in more than 10 film festivals around the world. The film combines drama with fantastic elements and was inspired by the director’s childhood in the Southern Alps region.
Cartoon d’Or is the only pan-European prize specifically for animated films, and competition in the event is exclusively reserved for short films awarded in one of Cartoon’s partner festivals. The other finalists were: “Alike” by Daniel Martínez Lara & Rafa Cano Méndez (Spain), “Machine” by Sunit Parekh (Denmark), “Peripheria” by David Coquard-Dassault (France) and “Under your fingers” by Marie-Christine Courtès (France). The finalists were selected among 23 European short films which had won an award at Europe’s major animation festivals over the past year. Harel will receive a 10,000 EUR grant, thanks to the support of Creative Europe-MEDIA.
SYNOPSIS
Yùl, 13, goes with his big brother Dino to make a deal with Mike, a thug escorted by his Dogo Argentino. When things go wrong, a mysterious snake appears.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Gabriel Harel studied at the Epinal School of Fine Arts for four years. In 2007, he entered the school La Poudrière, where he directed “L’Eau à la bouche”. Produced by Kazak Productions,“Yùl and the Snake” is his first short film.
ABOUT CARTOON D’OR
The Cartoon d’Or is the award for the best European animated short film of the year. Granted by CARTOON – the European Association of Animation Film with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme, it rewards the best of the best since only prize-winning films from major European festivals can compete. Amongst this short list, a jury of international experts selects five finalists and a winner. The Cartoon d’Or is annually awarded in September during the Cartoon Forum, the pitching and co-production forum for TV series. The purpose of the Cartoon d’Or is to act as a pipeline between short film directors and the industry, and to help talented artists start a new project. Launched in 1991, the first Cartoon d’Or went to British director Nick Park, still unknown at the time, for his film “Creatures Comforts”. Other great names have followed, such as Sylvain Chomet, Jacques-Rémy Girerd, Mark Baker, Michael Dudok De Wit, Joanna Quinn and Benjamin Renner.
CARTOON D’OR 2016 MEMBER FESTIVALS: 3D Wire (Segovia – Spain), Anima (Brussels – Belgium), Animafest (Zagreb – Croatia), Cinanima (Espinho – Portugal), Encounters Festival (Bristol – United Kingdom), Festival International du Film d’Animation (Annecy – France), Fredrikstad Animation Festival (Fredrikstad – Norway), Holland Animation Film Festival (Utrecht – Netherlands), Internationales Trickfilm Festival Stuttgart (Stuttgart – Germany), and the Eastern European festivals coalition called “Cartoon East” Animateka – Ljubljana ; Anim’est – Bucarest ; Balkanima – Belgrade ; Banjaluka – Banja Luka ; Fest Anca – Žilina).