None other than the award-winning and Academy Award-nominated animation studio Cartoon Saloon will be represented on our stage during In Motion London. Established by Paul Young, Tomm Moore, and Nora Twomey, based in Kilkenny (Ireland), the studio produces brave and beautiful shorts, feature films, and TV series. One of them is their recent short film Éiru, directed and written by Giovanna Ferrari, who will join us together with co-founder Nora Twomey for a deep dive into this project.
Since the early 2000’s, Giovanna has worked on several feature films across Europe as both a storyboard artist and animator. She has worked with Cartoon Saloon on a number of projects, including Song of The Sea, The Breadwinner, Wolfwalkers, and the Star Wars: Visions episode Screecher’s Reach. She was head of story and animation director on My Fathers Dragon (dir. by Nora Twomey). She is currently working as the head of story on a feature film in development in the studio. Giovanna was awarded an Emile Award in 2018 for her storyboards on The Breadwinner and an Irish Animation Award in 2023 for My Father’s Dragon.
From the studio’s early years, directing award winning short films and commercials, Nora Twomey went on to co-direct Tomm Moore’s Academy Award nominated The Secret of Kells. Nora was head of story and voice director on Song of the Sea. She directed The Breadwinner and won several international awards including Best Indie Feature Annie and the Audience and Jury Awards at Annecy.
Éiru, tells the story of a child in search of a challenge. When the water mysteriously disappears from the well in a warrior clan’s village, Éiru descends into the belly of the earth to retrieve it. We can’t wait to hear how this story came to life during In Motion London!
