Perro Verde wins at Cartoon Movie

LYON, France -- Manuel Cristobal's Perro Verde Films won European Producer of the Year at the 14th edition of Cartoon Movie, the animation mini-mart that wrapped Friday in Lyon. Perro Verde was competing against two Gallic companies, Moonscoop and Blue Spirit Animation. France's Remi Bezancon and Jean-Christophe Lie nabbed the European director nod for 2D adventure "Zarafa," beating Bibo Bergeron for EuropaCorp-produced "Monster in Paris," and the Danish trio, Thorbjorn Christoffersen, Philip Einstein Lipski and Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen, for "Ronal the Barbarian."Belgium's Cineart won the European distributor kudo over Romania's Transilvania Film and Pathe, which operates in France and the U.K. Marc Bonny, founder of leading French arthouse company, Gebeka Films, which is based in Lyon, was feted with a special tribute from the Rhone-Alpes region. Gebeka's slate includes Jean-Francois Laguionie's "The Painting" and "Couleur Miel," a hybrid live action-animation pic helmed by Laurent Boileau and Jung Henin.Galicia-based shingle Perro Verde was set up by Cristobal in 2007. It produced Ignacio Ferreras' feature debut "Wrinkles," which was pitched at Cartoon Movie last year and had its Gallic premiere at the mart on March 7. The pic, which is the company's fifth feature, is repped by 6 Sales. Cristobal told Variety that Perro Verde is developing a second toonpic with Ferreras.The company's credits also include "Going Nuts." "We aim to continue producing family features as well as films like 'Wrinkles' that push the boundaries of animation by addressing moving issues with humor and endearing characters," Cristobal told Variety. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com