Cartoon Saloon's The Breadwinner beats Pixar's Coco to be chosen for Best Animated Feature by LA Film Critics Association

The Association met on Sunday to vote for their top films of the year and The Breadwinner, directed by Norma Twomey, beat Pixar's Coco.

The film is co-produced by the award-winning Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon which created the stunning animated features The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea.

Based on Deborah Ellis' acclaimed novel, The Breadwinner tells the story of an 11-year-ol Afghan girl Parvana, born into an ever-changing world of conflict and Taliban oppression, who must disguise herself as a boy to become her family's sole breadwinner.

The film, which now stands a good chance of bagging an Oscar, is visually breathtaking and was created by a team of over 200 animators, artists and actors from around the world.  It's a mix of 2-D animation with acrylic and digitally painted environments as well as digital paper cut-out segments.

It will have its Irish premiere at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival on February 22nd, 2018 ,at Cineworld Dublin, on Parnell Street.

The LA Film Critics Association named Call Me By Your Name Best Picture, and chose Luca Guadagnino (tied with Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water) for Best Dirctor and Timothée Chalamet for Best ACtor.

The Shape of Water also won three awards including Best Actress for Sally Hawkins and Best Cinematography for Dan Laustsen.

Martin McDonagh was runner-up for Best Screenplay with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.