COTB 2023: Stop Motion producer Ian Mackinnon to receive the Studio of the Year Award

The Stop Motion producer and legend Ian Mackinnon will receive the Studio of the Year Award 2023 on behalf of the McKinnon & Saunders Studio at the Cartoons on the Bay - International Festival of Animation, Transmedia and Meta-Arts. The 27th Edition of the event, organized by Rai Com and promoted by Rai, will take place in Pescara from May 31 to June 4, 2023. Mackinnon will also be part of the Festival's International Jury, which will decide the Pulcinella Awards for the competition’s many categories.

Ian Mackinnon is one of the creative directors and co-founders of Mackinnon & Saunders, a leading company in character development for animation and producers of high-quality stop motion and 2D digital animation. For over thirty years, the team at Mackinnon & Saunders has brought to life some of the best-known characters in the world for movies, TV series, commercials, and short films. Some of their works include the puppets for Guillermo del Toro's recent "Pinocchio", developed for Netflix and winner of the Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

They also crafted the puppets for Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox", Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" and "Frankenweenie", and Mike Johnson's and Burton's "Corpse Bride." The Mackinnon & Saunders studio is actively involved in animation in the UK market with the BBC and beyond.

Cartoons on the Bay will also host the British film director and producer Peter Lord and the Israeli film director and producer Ari Folman, who will both receive the Pulcinella Career Award.