What are the hottest animations? September's Cartoon Forum Catalunya in Girona showcases 60 European projects that are set to grab international interest.

Cartoon Forum Catalunya, taking place in Girona, Spain, from Sept. 19 to 22, is celebrating its 18th anniversary with 400 hours of animation in 60 projects—and with a total budget of 216 million euros. Some 750 people are expected to participate in the event.

France leads the field with 15 projects, followed by the UK with 12, and Spain with 11, while Germany and the Nordic countries will present six projects each.

Cartoon Forum is the annual event aimed at advancing the production, distribution, and financing of European animated series for television and new media.

Most of the 60 animations are 26-program series with an average length of 10 to 13 minutes. And most of the programs are aimed at 6- to 13-year-olds.

In terms of production, 2D animation continues to prevail over 3D, with the average cost per minute produced standing at between 9,000 and 10,000 euros.

A significant number of this year's projects are also conceived to be reproduced on new technology formats—HD—and distributed on new platforms including VOD, IPTV, ADSL TV, and mobile telephony.

Cartoon Forum Catalunya will also host the Cartoon d'Or 2007 awards ceremony for the European Association of Animation Film's annual award for best short film, and the Cartoon Tributes for television, which elects the best producer, broadcaster, and investor of the year.

Films from the UK, Hungary, and Finland are among the five finalists for the Cartoon d'Or awards. Only films that have won awards in other European animated film festivals are allowed to compete.

The five finalists, selected from 27 candidates, are: Life Line, by Tomek Ducki (Hungary); Peter & the Wolf, by Suzie Templeton (UK); The Irresistible Smile, by Ami Lindhom (Finland); The Pearce Sisters, by Luis Cook (UK); and t.o.m., by Daniel Gray & Tom Brown (UK).

Cartoon d'Or is the only pan-European prize specifically for animated films, and competition in the event is reserved for winners of short film awards from 10 European partner festivals.

The Cartoon d'Or Night is sponsored by Televisió de Catalunya (TVC). The Cartoon d'Or is organized with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

This is the fourth time that the Cartoon Forum is being held in Spain, following editions in Lanzarote (1990), Córdoba (1999), and Santiago de Compostela (2004).

Since Cartoon Forum was created 18 years ago, more than 300 projects have obtained financing to the tune of over 1 billion euros and are being produced or broadcast in countries all over the world.

Organized by Cartoon (European Association of Animation Film) with the support of the Media Programme of the European Union, the main partners of Cartoon Forum Catalunya are Generalitat de Catalunya–Institut Català de les Indústries Culturals (ICIC), Televisió de Catalunya (TVC), and Catalan Films & TV (CF&TV).

The event also has the support of Ajuntament de Girona, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), MEDIA Antena Catalunya, and Universitat de Girona.

License! Global is among the partners of the event.