From 7-9 April, Cartoons on the Bay, the festival organized by Rai and realized by Rai Com, returns to Venice for the third time, in the setting of the prestigious Palazzo Labia.
For the 19th edition the event will open up to a global vision of kids’ TV consisting of cartoons as well as talk shows, live action TV, sit-coms and web series, becoming a Festival of cross-media animation and of children’s TV.
So a new Pulcinella Award will be presented in Venice to the best live action/hybrid program of the season that has just ended.
This award will join the traditional Pulcinella Awards for the best pre-school, kids, teens series, series pilots and shorts, as well as the best videogame.

Judging the works in competition will be, among others, Orion Ross, vice president of Content, Animation, Digital and Acquisitions, Disney Channels EMEA, Maura Regan, senior vice president and general manager, Global Consumer Products Sesame Workshop and the director of Rai Fiction, Eleonora Andreatta.

Guest of honor will be the American scriptwriter Christopher Vogler, story analyst for the most important US majors, from Warner Bros to 20th Century Fox to Disney, where he contributed to the making of hit movies like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid”.
A professor at UCLA in Los Angeles, he is the author of “The Hero’s Journey”, considered to be a regular bible by sector professionals.
Vogler and Britain’s Richard Garriott, the author of the “Ultima” series of role-playing videogames, will receive a Special Award, whilst CD Projekt, the Polish videogame software house (responsible for the successful “The Witcher”) is the international Studio of the year.
Michel Fuzellier will receive a Lifetime Achievement Pulcinella whilst the Italian Studio of the year is Gertie.
“Iqbal – The tale of a Fearless Child”, directed by Fuzellier, is the latest feature film produced by the Milan studios which was also the co-producer on “Mia and the Migoo”, winner of the best European film award at the festival in 2009 as well as at other festivals.
The guest country is South Africa which will be in Venice with a representation of sector companies for a panel event and a retrospective.