Tomm Moore


Thomas "Tomm" Moore is an Irish filmmaker, animator, illustrator and comics artist. He is co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, an animation studio and production company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. His first two feature films, The Secret of Kells, co-directed with Nora Twomey, and Song of the Sea, have received critical acclaim and were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Early life

Moore, the eldest of four children, was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. At an early age, his family moved to Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland where his father worked as an engineer. During his early to mid-teens, he joined the Young Irish Film Makers in Kilkenny, where he grew his knowledge and passion for film and animation. After leaving St Kieran's College secondary school, he studied classical animation at Ballyfermot College of Further Education in Dublin.

Career

During his final year at Ballyfermot in 1998, Moore co-founded the Cartoon Saloon animation studio with Paul Young and Nora Twomey. Initially they set up studio alongside Moore's alma mater Young Irish Film Makers, but the studio soon outgrew the premises. The studio created the television series Skunk Fu!.
Moore's first animated feature film, which he co-directed with Nora Twomey, is The Secret of Kells, written by Fabrice Ziolkowski from a story by Moore and Aidan Harte. It is a co-production by the Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs, Vivi Film and France 2 Cinéma. The film is a hand-drawn animation, set in 9th century Ireland, and partially based on and inspired by early Christian history and legend. It premiered on 8 February 2009, at the Berlin International Film Festival. It went into wide release in Belgium and France on 11 February, and in the Republic of Ireland on 3 March. On 2 February 2010, it was announced that the film had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
In 2014, Moore completed his second feature film, entitled Song of the Sea. Like The Secret of Kells, it is traditionally animated and is based on Irish folklore, specifically selkies. The film was a major critical success and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Also in 2014, Moore co-directed a segment of the Salma Hayek produced film The Prophet with Ross Stewart, adapted from Kahlil Gibran's book of prose poetry essays, The Prophet. The production consisted of different directors for each of the film's collective essays, with animation director, Roger Allers supervising and credited as screenwriter.
Both of Moore's 2014 films received their world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
In November 2015, Moore announced on his tumblr blog and Facebook that his next animated feature film from Cartoon Saloon will be Wolfwalkers, to be co-directed with Ross Stewart.

Comics

He has drawn two Irish language graphic novels, An Sclábhaí and An Teachtaire, telling the story of St. Patrick. Both were written by Colmán Ó Raghallaigh and published in Ireland by Cló Mhaigh Eo. He has also created a two-volume graphic novel adaptation of The Secret of Kells, published in French as Brendan et le secret de Kells.

Personal life

Moore is a nephew of the renowned singer/songwriter Kieran Goss.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

For The Secret of Kells
For Song of the Sea