AnimationWorld Magazine — December 1, 2017
An Emotional Tale that Dazzles: Nora Twomey’s ‘The Breadwinner’
Expanding into theaters nationwide this weekend, The Breadwinner is a meticulously crafted story of self-empowerment and imagination in the face of oppression, boasting the breathtaking hand-drawn animation that has made Cartoon Saloon one of the world’s most well-loved and respected animation studios.
Directed by Nora Twomey, the gorgeously rendered 2D animated feature is produced by Aircraft Pictures’ Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, Cartoon Saloon’s Tomm Moore and Paul Young, and Melusine Productions’ Stephan Roelants. It is executive produced by Jolie Pas Production’s Angelina Jolie, Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer, Mimi Polk Gitlin, Jon Levin, Regina K. Scully, Frank Falcone and Mary Bredin; Cartoon Saloon’s Gerry Shirren, and GKIDS’ Eric Beckman and David Jesteadt.
The film, which is based on the award-winning, best-selling young adult novel by Deborah Ellis, first debuted at TIFF, and had its U.S. premiere at this past October’s inaugural ANIMATION IS FILM Festival, winning both the grand prize and audience award. The Ireland-Canada-Luxembourg co-production follows Parvana (voiced by Sarah Chowdry), a young girl living under the Taliban regime who cuts her hair and disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family after her father is imprisoned.
Aircraft Pictures approached Cartoon Saloon more than four years ago with the idea of co-producing an adaptation of the book, and Twomey, who served as co-director on the Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells and head of story on the similarly nominated Song of the Sea, was immediately struck by the idea. “The opportunity to tell a story like ‘The Breadwinner’ for the screen was just something that I couldn’t pass up,” she recounts.