Cartoon Movie 2023 to focus on Ukrainian Animation

This year, Ukraine will be the focus of the Cartoon Movie co-production forum for full-length animated films, which will take place from March 7 to 9 in Bordeaux (France)! The organizers are preparing a stand of Ukrainian animation, an e-catalog of animation projects for the past three years, and thematic videos to present the animation industry of the county at the Forum. The stand will be dedicated to popularizing modern Ukrainian animation, promoting its distribution and international co-production.

The presentation of Ukrainian animation within the Cartoon Movie forum is organized by LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival and Media Resources Management (MRM) company with the support of USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine.

"The LINOLEUM festival has been observing the achievements of Ukrainian artists for ten years - we have a lot of talents in the field of animation. I am grateful to Cartoon Movie and our artists for their trust. I am honored to represent Ukrainian animation and will share all the insights gotten during the Forum. I hope our presence at a forum of this level will encourage the international community to pay more attention to and partner with Ukrainian studios and artists", commented Anastasiya Verlinska, director of the LINOLEUM animation festival.

The delegation representing the Ukrainian animation industry at the Forum has about 20 people and companies like Avtoritetstudio studio; Anatoliy Lavrenishyn, Lisenbart Film studio; Sun Stories studio; Studio KAPI; Chervoniy Sobaka studio; FILM.UA Group (Animagrad); YARKI studio; and Unimage Group.

On the other hand, Ukrainian animation "Mavka. The Forest Song" is currently returning at Cartoon Movie with a completed film just in time for its theatrical release in France. In addition, the project of the Animagrad studio "Roxelana" was selected for pitching. To some extent, the creators were inspired by Roxelana's historical prototype, but the plot of the upcoming cartoon is fictional. Roxelana lives in Slavia, and after being captured by Sultanabad soldiers, she meets Sultan Nariman. Hatred immediately flares up between them, but as luck would have it, she is the one who has to save the sultan from the consequences of his enemies' black magic - his soul got into the body of his cat.

"Cartoon Movie is one of the most effective forums for finding partners for those who create full-length animated films. During the war in Ukraine, international distribution and partnerships are vital for the industry. We will do everything we can to ensure that Ukrainian animation is truly in the Spotlight at Cartoon Movie," said Alla Prelovska, international project manager at Media Resources Management.