Tomm Moore

Artist and animator Tomm Moore imbued his work with the history and mythology of his native Ireland, which lent a timeless, magical quality to his Oscar-nominated films "The Secret of Kells" (2010) and "The Song of the Sea." Moore began his career in comics, illustrating the story of his country's patron saint, St. Patrick, for teenaged readers before branching into animation for film and television through Cartoon Saloon, a company he co-founded with several school friends. French producer Didier Brunner backed their first feature-length effort, "The Secret of Kells," which featured stunning hand-drawn animation instead of computer generated imagery; the film was a critical success across the globe and led to Moore's second animated feature, "The Song of the Sea." The 2014 feature earned Moore his second Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, and cemented his status as a potent creative force in the animation industry.