'Robot Dreams' wins Best Independent Feature at Annie Awards in LA

'Robot Dreams' from director Pablo Berger won Best Independent Feature at the Annie Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night. 

The Catalan production missed out in the other four categories it was nominated in – Best Character Design, Best Direction, Best Storyboarding, and Best Writing – but goes to the Oscars in rude health after already picking up the prize for Best Animated Feature in December's European Film Awards. 

Following its latest recognition at the Annie Awards, organized by the International Animated Film Society in Hollywood, 'Robot Dreams' will compete in the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards on March 10. 

Importance of friendship 

The first animated feature film from Basque director Pablo Berger, 'Robot Dreams' follows the story of Dog and his robot companion. It is set in 1980s New York City and is a "love letter" to the place Berger called home for ten years.  

The script of the film – a story about friendship, its importance, and its fragility – was written by the director and is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by American artist Sara Varon. 

Awards 

Since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the film has won multiple awards, including the Contrechamp Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, and prizes at Spain's Goya Awards and Catalonia's Gaudí Awards. Its Spanish premiere came at Sitges Film Festival, where it won the Grand People's Choice Award. It also won the Special Jury Prize at the Animation is Film Festival in Los Angeles. 

The film was produced by Barcelona-based Arcadia Motion Pictures.