Tomm Moore’s ‘Kindred Spirits’ among Cartoon Movie 2026 line-up

Kindred Spirits, an upcoming project from three-time Irish Oscar nominee Tomm Moore, is one of the animation projects selected for Cartoon Movie 2026, the two-day pitching and co-production event for animated feature projects.

Moore’s credits include 2010’s The Secret Of Kells,  2015’s Song Of The Sea, and 2021’s Wolfwalkers, all nominated for the best animated feature Oscar. 

Set in 1847 New York, Kindred Spirits follows an Irish refugee girl and a displaced Choctaw boy who form an unlikely bond. Presently in development and being produced via Moore’s Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, Kindred Spirits joins the 12 projects at concept stage, 30 in development, seven in production and one sneak preview that will be showcased to potential international partners at the event taking place in Bordeaux in south-west France, from March 3-5.

Further development projects include The Wild And The Tame from Hungarian filmmakers Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó, Hakim’s Odyssey from two-time Cesar winner  Patrick Imbert,and Michaela Pavlátová’s Night Tram, a French-Lithuanian-Slovakian collaboration.

Buzzy projects at a more advanced stage include Benoît Delépine’s Detective Kibbles and Anca Damian’s Starseed.

“This year’s selection includes several projects that thoughtfully engage with significant themes such as war, exile and migration, while addressing a wide range of audiences, from young adults to families,” noted Annick Maes, general manager of Cartoon.

Of the 50 selected projects, 21 nationalities participate as the majority producers. France leads with 15 projects, followed by Germany with six and Spain with five. In terms of target audiences, adult animation continues to expand, accounting for 38% of the selection, up from 30% in 2025 

Only a limited number of titles arrive with sales agents already attached. They include Betty Baloon (Level K), Detective Kibbles (WT Films), Starseed (Mediawan), Pirate Mo And The Legend Of The Red Ruby (The Playmaker), Jim Queen (Global Constellation) and Monster Mia (Sola Media).

Five of the eight projects in the production and sneak preview strands previously participated in Cartoon Movie at the concept or development stage, underlining the event’s role as a long-term financing platform.

Awards

At the event, 13 projects are in the running for the €20,000 Eurimages Co-production Development Award, to be announced on March 5. Eligible projects must be conceived from the outset as international co-productions for theatrical release and initiated by a lead producer based in a Eurimages member state.

The Cartoon Movie Tributes — Director, Distributor and Producer of the Year — will be decided by votes from participants attending from around 40 countries. Director nominees include Irene Iborra Rizo (Olivia And The Invisible Earthquake), Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (Little Amélie), Reza Memari (The Last Whale Singer) and Ugo Bienvenu (Arco).

Host region Nouvelle-Aquitaine has supported eight selected projects. Bordeaux ranks as France’s second city for comic-strip professionals, third for video game creation behind Paris and Lyon, and the country’s third region for hosting feature film and TV shoots.

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