Deborah Ellis is best known for her Breadwinner series, which has been published in twenty-five languages and has earned more than $1 million in royalties to benefit Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. She has won the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Governor General's Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She has received the Ontario Library Association's President's Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Canada. The Breadwinner film was produced by Aircraft Pictures, Cartoon Saloon and Melusine Productions. Aircraft Pictures is an independent scripted content production company creating quality entertainment for a worldwide audience, ranging from independent feature films to high-end television series. Aircraft has offices in Toronto and Los Angeles. Cartoon Saloon is a two-time Academy Award nominee for the 2010 film The Secret of Kells and 2014's Song of the Sea. The studio was formed in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, and is based in Kilkenny, Ireland. Melusine Productions is based in Luxembourg. They specialize in animated films and documentaries. Recent films include the award-winning Song of the Sea and Ernest & Celestine. Nora Twomey is co-founder and creative director of Cartoon Saloon, and was co-director of their Oscar(R) nominated animated feature The Secret of Kells and head of story on the follow-up film, the Oscar(R) nominated Song of the Sea. Nora is the director of The Breadwinner, an animated feature film adaptation of Deborah Ellis's best-selling children's novel.