ARTE, ZDF & Cartoon Saloon Honored with Cartoon Forum Tributes

Companies from France, Germany and Ireland have been recognized with the Cartoon Forum Tributes, the peer-to-peer awards honoring the work of broadcasters, investors/distributors and producers in the promotion and development of European animation.

Winners were voted by the near 1,000 professionals attending the Cartoon Forum, the pitching and co-production forum for animated series which today closes its 35th edition in the French city of Toulouse. The Broadcaster of the Year prize went to Franco-German public broadcaster ARTE, Germany’s ZDF Studios was recognized as Investor/Distribtuor of the Year and Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon was named Producer of the Year. The 2024 nominees also included companies from Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.

Presented for the first time in the French city of Pau in 2006, the Tributes have grown since then into a landmark recognition in the European animation industry.

At the ceremony, the organizers of the event also presented Luca Milano with a Cartoon Tribute of Honor for his contribution to European animation. From his position as Executive Director of RAI Kids — the children’s unit of the Italian public channel RAI — and throughout his extensive professional career, Milano has been responsible for programming, acquiring, producing and coproducing internationally animated content for children with a clear European vocation.

Cartoon Forum Tributes 2024 Winners

Broadcaster of the Year — ARTE
Founded in 1992, Franco-German ARTE is a European public cultural television channel and digital network with a strong focus on creation and innovation. Samuel, Music Queens, Boys Boys Boys and Globozone are some of the series scheduled on the channel that have been previously pitched at Cartoon Forum.

Investor/Distributor of the Year — ZDF Studios
Founded in 1993, Mainz-based ZDF Studios is a commercial subsidiary of Germany’s ZDF, one of the largest public broadcasters in Europe. With a catalog of 25,000 episodes in 25 languages, the company is responsible for the global distribution of ZDF and third parties’ content, investing in an average of 20 programs per year. Dougie Dolittle, Tobie Lolness and 20 Dance Street are some of the series recently presented at Cartoon Forum that are being distributed worldwide through the company.

Producer of the Year — Cartoon Saloon
Established in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, Cartoon Saloon is a world-renowned animation studio with five Academy Award and two Golden Globe nominations, as well as many award wins, including BAFTA and Emmy. Located in Kilkenny, Ireland, the studio produces shorts, feature films and TV series, including Skunk Fu, Dorg Van Dango and Silly Sundays, which have been pitched at Cartoon Forum and are currently being broadcasted around the world.