London-based Rocket Pictures has tapped award-winning studio Mikros Image (a Technicolor company) to lead digital animation work for Paramount Animation and MGM Pictures’ Sherlock Gnomes — the follow-up to the Rocket’s animated feature Gnomeo and Juliet.
The animation duties will be shared between Mikros Paris and the new Mikros Animation studio in London. Top talent from around the world is being actively recruited for the production.
“As the leading independent animation studio and coming off of the successes of Asterix: The Land of the Gods, among others, we are very excited to leverage our creative and operational bandwidth for Paramount Animation, MGM and Rocket,” said Mikros Image Deputy MD Julien Meesters. “With the support of our great executive team, which includes Nicolas Trout, Simon Thomas and Marie Balland, we believe that Sherlock Gnomes is the perfect project to launch operations in London.”
Directed by Annie Award winner and Oscar nominee John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda), Sherlock Gnomes is an action-adventure detective tale set in London, where Gnomeo and Juliet turn to the legendary Sherlock Gnomes to solve a big case.
Sherlock Gnomes is produced by Steve Hamilton Shaw (Gnomeo and Juliet) and Carolyn Soper (production executive for Tangled) along with Sir Elton John and David Furnish, who also produced the prior gnome flick. Eric Leighton serves as animation director, Karen de Jong is the production designer, and Freddy Chaleur returns as VFX supervisor. Rob Stevenhagen heads up the story team.
eOne Expands ‘Peppa Pig’ U.S. L&M Program
Hit pre-k brand renews and expands deals with Jazwares, Scholastic, Happy Threads, Candlewick Press and Esquire; plus more stage show performances scheduled.
Multi-award-winning animation production and distribution company Cyber Group Studios has joined forces with Didier Brunner’s Folivari and documentary production company Winds to co-produce a new hybrid animation and live-action series: Menino and the Children of the World.
Created by Brunner — known for his work on acclaimed films like The Old Lady and the Pigeons, The Triplets of Belleville, Brendan and Ernest & Celestine — Menino and the Children of the World (52 x 7) follows a little animated boy named Menino who, in each episode, embarks on a journey to learn about the lives of real children in different, unique corners of the world. As curious as he is clumsy, Menino shows viewers the joy and wonder of a traditional meal in the remote mountains of western China, a trip in the Kenyan savannah or fishing from a canoe in the Indian Ocean.
Menino is aimed at children ages 4-7 and combines animation and live action, bringing together aspects from two acclaimed films into one series: the documentary On the Way to School, which won the 2014 Cesar for Best Documentary, and The Boy and the World, the Cristal winning and Oscar-nominated Brazilian animated feature by Alé Abreu.
Cyber Group Studios is handling worldwide distribution and will commence international presales at MIFA in Annecy.
A new Princess joins the realm as Disney Channel’s new animated series Elena of Avalor debuts with an hour-long premiere event Friday, July 22 at 7 p.m. ET. The show’s theme song is performed by Gaby Moreno — winner of a Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist — and Elena’s regal anthem is performed by Aimee Carrero, who also voices the Princess.
Set in the enchanted fairytale land of Avalor, the series introduces Elena — a brave and adventurous teenager who has saved her kingdom from an evil sorceress, and must now learn to rule as its crown princess until she is old enough to be queen. Elena’s journey will instruct her in the qualities required of a great leader: thoughtfulness, resilience and compassion.
The stories incorporate influences from diverse Latin and Hispanic cultures through architecture, traditions, food and customs. Magic, mythology, folklore and music also play an important role, with each episode featuring original songs spanning an array of Latin musical styles including Mariachi, Latin Pop, Salsa, Banda and Chilean Hip Hop.
In the premiere episode, “First Day of Rule,” Elena becomes the crown princess and rescues her sister Isabel from the Noblins, elf-like shapeshifters based on the Chilean peuchen myth. The episode also introduces Elena’s animal world spirit guide, Zuzo, based on a Mayan tribal belief. In the second episode “Model Sister,” Elena is torn between a promise to Isabel and her royal duties.
A full-length preview of the first episode will launch on the Disney Channel app and VOD platforms for verified users on July 1. Following the U.S. premiere, Elena will rollout in 33 languages and 163 countries through Disney Channels worldwide. Princess Elena arrives at Disney World this summer and Disneyland this fall. She will also appear in print and e-books (Disney Publishing); a range of consumer products from Disney Store and licensees; and in audio and DVD releases this year.
Elena of Avalor stars Aimee Carrero as Elena, Jenna Ortega as Isabel; Chris Parnell, Yvette Nicole Brown and Carlos Alazraqui as the jaquins Migs, Luna and Skylar; Emiliano Diez as Francisco, Julia Vera as Luisa, Christian Lanz as Chancellor Esteban, Jillian Rose Reed as Naomi, Joseph Haro as Mateo, Jorge Diaz as Gabe, Keith Ferguson as Zuzo and Joe Nunez as Armando.
Recurring guest voice cast includes: Constance Marie, Lou Diamond Phillips, Justina Machado, Jaime Camil, Rich Sommer, Tyler Posey, Lucas Grabeel and Echo Kellum. Season one guest voices include: Tituss Burgess, Ana Ortiz, Ivonne Coll, Hector Elizondo, Odette Annable, Danny Trejo, Anthony Mendez, Eden Espinosa, Marsai Martin, Aasif Mandvi and George Takei.
Elena of Avalor was created by Emmy Award winner Craig Gerber, who also serves as executive producer. Silvia Cardenas Olivas is the story editor, and Elliot M. Bour is the supervising director. The series’ cultural advisors are Marcela Davison Avilés, founder of
The Chapultepec Group, co-founder of the international Latino arts initiative Camino Arts, and Director of Humanities Programs at the FDR Foundation at Harvard University; and Diane Rodriguez, Associate Artistic Director of Centre Theatre Group and co-founder of the theatre ensemble Latins Anonymous, who was recently appointed by President Obama to be a member of the National Council on the Arts.
Emmy Award-nominated Tony Morales is the composer, Emmy Award winner John Kavanaugh is the songwriter/music director, and acclaimed touring musician and Latin music instructor Rene Camacho serves as Latin music consultant.
The second Bridging the Gap – Animation Lab organizers have announced the 13 projects from across the world that will participate in this year’s event, to be held July 18-23 in Valencia, Spain. The aim of the lab is to strengthen and promote international animation projects and facilitate the creation of international partnerships and networks.
This year’s baker’s dozen are: Feature films The Other Shape by Diego Felipe (Colombia), Wings by Tim Argall (Lithuania), Faery by Angcoy Crisologo (Philippines), ALMI by Tewodros Kifle (Ethiopia) and Elsewhere by Ward Saleh (France/Syria); and TV series: Jail by Catalina Vasquez (Colombia), Chakay – Crossing the Bridge by Daniel Jacome (Ecuador), Dinosaurs in the Sky by Amanda Richardson (U.K./Brazil), My Name Is Peligro by Juan Valbuena (Venezuela/Panama), Raffi by Santiago O’Ryan & Ricardo Villavicencio (Chile), Berks by Javier de la Chica (Spain), Villains Campus by David Colomer (Spain) and The Wind-ups by Irene Chica (Spain).
BTG scholarship recipients were Chakay, The Other Shape, Faery, ALMI and Jail. Elsewhere received the Institut Francais Espagne scholarship for Best French Project. Dinosaurs in the Sky received the Creative UK Network – British Council scholarship. The Wind-ups was awarded the 3D Wire scholarship for Best Spanish Project. And school scholarship were given to Villains Campus (Barreira Arte + Diseno) and Berks (U-tad).
The participants will have the opportunity to pitch their projects to decision makers and professionals from broadcasters like Cartoon Network, RTVE and Movistar+. Confirmed industry experts for the second BTG are Eric Goossens (director, Walking the Dog), Charlotte De La Gournerie (producer, The Reward) and Silly Walks studio. Returning participants are Nicolas Schmerkin (director, Logorama), Guillermo Garcia Carsi (creator, Pocoyo), Shamik Majumdar (creative director, Walt Disney Europe), Manuel Cristobal (producer, Wrinkles), Guadalupe Arensburg (Head of Short Films Acquisitions, Movistar+) and Paco Rodriguez, executive producer of seven animated features.
Animation Lab is organized by Bridging the Gap, an initiative promoted by animation professionals, under the Program ACERCA for Training Development in the Cultural Sector of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development, in collaboration with the International and Ibero-American Administration and Public Policy.
The RTX, Texas’ largest gaming and Internet event, announces the inaugural Rooster Teeth Animation Festival — a first-of-its-kind fest to bring together some of the best known web-based animators and their fans for exclusive screenings, panel discussion and more. The festival will take place during RTX at the Austin Convention Center, July 2-3. Rooster Teeth Animation is a pioneering studio, creator of some of the most successful online series including Red vs. Blue and RWBY.
“Rooster Teeth Animation wants to celebrate this amazing time we’re in, as both animators and fans. We’re starting by showcasing a collection of some of the top independent online talent, as well as studios that are trailblazing in the industry,” said Gray G. Haddock, Head of Animation at Rooster Teeth. “Just as animation is growing stronger at Rooster Teeth, we want to use events like this to help others coming up in the industry, and better enable the connection between animators and audience as a whole. …Really, we just want an excuse to get a couple thousand people together to watch a bunch of animation and geek out over making it.”
Among the big names in webtoons that will present never-before-seen animation at the festival are How It Should Have Ended (6+ million YouTube subscribers), ExplosmEntertainment (5.8+ million), MondoMedia (2.9+ million) and Frederator (1.1+ million), and more to be announced.
Now in its sixth year, RTX anticipates over 60,000 attendees will descend on Austin to check out new and unreleased video games, hear from Internet celebrities and experience the best in gaming, animation and online entertainment. Visit the website for more information.
Shout! Factory and Hasbro Studios have formed a strategic distribution collaboration to bring animated icon Transformers – The Movie to the home entertainment marketplace in the U.S. and Canada. The multi-year agreement grants Shout! Factory exclusive home entertainment packaged media and select digital rights, and will see a 30th anniversary release, remastered in HD from the original 35mm elements with a range of bonus content and collectible packaging, set to rollout September 13, 2016.
“The Transformers franchise has been part of American popular culture for more than 30 years, developing into one of the most recognizable brands around the globe,” said Stephen Davis, Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President of Hasbro. “Transformers – The Movie played a huge role in the brand’s early success, laying the foundation for major motion pictures, several successful TV series, clothing and apparel, toys and much more. We are thrilled to work with Shout! Factory to deliver the original movie to fans in a completely remastered HD experience.”
In Transformers – The Movie, the Autobots lead by Optimus Prime prepare for a daring attempt at retaking their planet from the evil Megatron and his Decepticons. Unknown to both sides, a new menace called Unicron is heading their way. The only hope of stopping Unicron lies within the Matrix of Leadership and the Autobot who can use its power.
Transformers – The Movie features the voice talent of Orson Welles in his final role along with Peter Cullen, Eric Idle, Casey Kasem, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Frank Welker. The feature-length animated adventure is co-produced and directed by Nelson Shin; produced by Joel Bacal and Tom Griffin with Jay Bacal as supervising producer. Executive producers are Margaret Loesch and Lee Gunther. Vince DiCola provided the musical score.
New York-based animation distributor GKIDS announces that CEO/Founder Eric Beckman and SVP of Distribution David Jesteadt will executive produce — along with Angelina Jolie Pitt and others — The Breadwinner, the latest feature from two-time Oscar nominated studio Cartoon Saloon, directed by Nora Twomey (co-director, The Secret of Kells).
“We’ve been long-standing friends with everyone at Cartoon Saloon since those heady days when we celebrated our first Oscar nomination together for The Secret of Kells, and again five years later for Song of the Sea,” said Beckman and Jesteadt. “We knew we needed to be involved with The Breadwinner once we learned Nora would be bringing Deborah Ellis’ beautiful and compelling story to the big screen. We’re thrilled that this film marks our first foray into the creative process and we look forward to supporting Nora and the team in bringing their vision to audiences everywhere.”
The Breadwinner is based on the award-winning novel by Deborah Ellis. The story centers on Parvana, a brave young girl living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan who must disguise herself as a boy to become the breadwinner of the family when her father is unjustly imprisoned. A story of self-empowerment and imagination in the face of oppression, The Breadwinner also celebrates the culture, history and beauty of Afghanistan.
The Breadwinner is produced by Aircraft Pictures’ Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, Cartoon Saloon’s Tomm Moore and Paul Young, and Melusine Productions’ Stephan Roelants. It was announced yesterday that Canada’s Guru Studios has also joined the production and will contribute key creatives to the film.
An Ireland-Canada-Luxembourg co-production, Breadwinner will be produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, the Irish Film Board, Film Fund Luxembourg, the Harold Greenberg Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, the OMDC and the BAI along with Gaia Entertainment and the Artemis Rising Foundation.
Attendees of the 2016 Cartoon Forum — taking place in Toulouse, France from September 13-16 — will be introduced to 80 new TV series projects from 22 countries across Europe. The 27th edition will feature a spotlight on Irish production and reveals a strong trend as over half of the participating projects are cross-media concepts. By demographic, one fourth of the projects are aimed at preschoolers and about 10% are aimed at young adults and adults. Organizers expect about 850 industry professionals to take part this year.
France leads the pack by country of origin, with 26 projects presenting this year. The U.K. and Ireland follow with nine and eight projects, reflecting their steady production trend. Belgium, Spain and Germany are represented by four projects each, while the Scandinavia region has five (three from Finland). The industry continues to grow across Europe, with projects from Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and more.
This year also offers a first Canadian production — Snowsnaps from CarpeDiem — in order to grow the collaboration established at Cartoon Connection Canada. The project has been selected by several European broadcasters which attended the October 2015 event: CBBC, France Televisions, Walt Disney UK, YLE Finland, Channel 5’s milkshake!, and Canal+ France.
And Korean projects will be presented for the second time: Tori’s Adventures (Tori Design), Slow Slow Sloth NEUL (J.Bugs) — both selected by five European broadcasters (France Televisions, M6, Canal+ and Turner France) and Bellboy Luke (Anyzac), picked by SK Broadband as a special Award recipient at Cartoon Connection Asia.
Cartoon Forum’s inaugural national “Spotlight” will showcase the Irish animation industry. Ireland’s animation sector is flourishing, accounting for one-third of the country’s audio-visual industry, and Irish studios work with some of the globe’s biggest broadcasters in a range of techniques and formats. In recent years, Irish animation has been represented at major international awards — including the Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmys and Annies. The country’s competitiveness is bolstered by the Section 481 tax incentive.
Cartoon Forum 2016 will offer Irish studio presentations during the Croissant Shows, an Irish Farewell Dinner & Party and other special events.
’Eddie Is a Yeti’ Rolls Out on Toon Goggles
First five CG-animated episodes of the Toon Goggles/Mondo TV co-production launch on the kid-friendly SVOD platform in over 190 countries.
The twisted tale that begins one of the greatest comic-book rivalries of all time will come to animated life in theaters as Batman: The Killing Joke gets a one-night big screen release on Monday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time. Fathom Events, in partnership with Warner Bros., is teaming up with producers Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment to bring the graphic novel adaptation to select cinemas across the U.S.
Batman: The Killing Joke reunites the foundation of Batman: The Animated Series with Bruce Timm returning as executive producer, and actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising their seminal roles as Batman and The Joker, respectively. In addition to the animated feature, audience members will get to experience a special introduction from Mark Hamill plus a never-before- seen documentary about how Hamill was cast in this project and what the role means to him as an actor and a fan. The event will conclude with a special behind-the- scenes look at how The Joker’s memorable, yet disturbing song and dance number was recreated for this movie.
Based on Alan Moore’s iconic DC graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke takes a journey into the dark psyche of the Clown Prince of Crime — from his humble start as a struggling comedian to the fateful encounter with the Dark Knight that changes both their lives forever. Years later after escaping from Arkham Asylum, The Joker schemes to prove that one bad day can make anyone as insane as he is, and targets Commissioner Gordon.
The first ever DC animated movie to be rated “R”, the movie features the voices of Hamill, Conroy, Tara Strong (Teen Titans, Batman: Arkham games) as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, RoboCop) as Commissioner Gordon.
Tickets for Batman: The Killing Joke will go on sale June 17 through FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Visit the event page for a list of screening locations.
Brooklyn’s Animation Block Party 2016 will present a special 15th anniversary screening of iconic big-screen space western Cowboy Bebop: The Movie this summer. The showcase will screen the evening of Saturday, July 30 at BAMcinématek.
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a feature-length adventure based on the hit anime series created by Hajime Yatate. The movie involved many of the key creatives from the series, including director Shinichiro Watanabe, writer Keiko Nobumoto and character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto. Produced by Bones studio, the story kicks off when an explosion releases a deadly virus, sending a slacker former cop and the bounty-hunting Bebop crew on a mission to catch the culprit.
The festival will announce a full lineup on June 24, including the juried competition programming. This year’s jurors are Aaron Brewer (animation director, Venture Bros.), Anna Hollingsworth (animation director, BoJack Horseman; lead animator, SpongeBob Movie) and Kim Wright (film producer, Sesame Workshop).
Animation Block Party 2016 runs July 28-31 at Rooftop Films and BAMcinématek. The festival will kick off at Brookfield Place (formerly the World Financial center) ground level along the Hudson River waterfront.
Russell Hicks has stepped down as President, Content Development and Production for the Nickelodeon Group, Deadlinereports. Hicks had been at Nickelodeon for 18 years and apparently had recently come off of a long medical leave. There are no replacement plans at this time.
Hicks oversaw live-action and animation development and production for all of Nick’s content platforms, across all channels — Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick and Nick at Nite. Notably, he is credited with creating Nickelodeon’s animated shorts program to attract and encourage new talent and uncover fresh shorts and series concepts.
Prior to becoming president in 2012, Hicks was Nickelodeon’s Chief Creative Officer, overseeing Nickelodeon Creative, On-Air Promotions, Consumer Products, Brand and Advertising divisions, and lead product development and creative positions for Nick’s brands and properties. Before joining Nickelodeon Group, he was VP, Marketing – Cartoon Network/Turner brands at Warner Bros.
Studio 100 Media is expanding its home entertainment business in German-speaking territories with third-party content being added to its library. Announced Wednesday, the company has picked up regional DVD and VOD rights to two new animated series from France’s Cyber Group Studios: Mirrete Investigates and Gilbert & Allie.`
Mirette Investigates (52 x 11) follows Mirette, a 10-year-old girl with a passion for solving mysteries, and her “catssistant” Jean-Pat, a lazy but extremely efficient ginger tom. Together the inquisitive and comedic duo visit the greatest cities in the world, from London to Paris, New York to Cairo.
Produced by Cyber Group Studios (France) and KD Productions (Spain) for TF1 and Canal+ (France), WDR (Germany) and TV3 Catalunya (Spain). DVD and VOD release in GSA trough Studio 100 is slated for 2017.`
Gilbert & Allie (52 x 11) is a 3D CGI supernatural comedy for kids 6-11 about the sparks (and spells) that fly when an average teen girl discovers she has extraordinary powers. Unfortunately, she can only harness them with the help of an ancient and extremely grumpy magical rabbit, which doesn’t help her ambition to be one of the popular kids.
Produced by Cyber Group Studios and Brown Bag Films (Ireland). Disney Channel has acquired TV rights for EMEA; Studio 100 will release DVD and VOD in GSA in 2018.`
The Beyblade franchise is relaunching later his year with its newest generation Beyblade Burst set to hit the U.S. and Canada later this year. In planning its global rollout, m4e AG has been appointed the agent for broadcast, home entertainment and merchandising rights in German-speaking territories by SUNRIGHTS, INC.
m4e is now seeking a German broadcasting partner in order to begin development of a broad regional licensing program. The toy line, which features a dynamic new “burst” component for the battling-tops game, will be introduced to North America in late 2016 by master toy partner Hasbro, rolling out to major international markets in 2017. Hasbro was master toy partner for the original 1999 and 2008 lines.
Beyblade Burst debuted on TV Tokyo in Japan in April this year. The animation is produced by d-rights, and the re-imagined series is produced by OLM. There is a brand new story line, all new characters, and a theme of real sports, competition and friendship which will increase accessibility for the brand’s core demographic of boys, aged 6-11 years. Tomy Company. Ltd. were the original toy developers of Beyblade. SUNRIGHTS handles the distribution of all rights for Beyblade Burst outside of Asia.
British indie studio Acamar Films has appointed El Ocho as the licensing and merchandising agent for its International Emmy-winning preschool series Bing in Spain and Portugal. The show is set to debut on Clan TVE in Spain later this year and currently airs on Portugal’s Canal Panda.
El Ocho’s co-founders Eva Rubira and Pilar Fernandez-Vega say that they are preparing a licensing program for the region which will see the first products launched in the second half of 2017. Bing already has more than 18 licensees on board in the U.K., alongside global partners Fisher Price and HarperCollins — new partners in key categories will be announced soon.
Produced by Acamar Films and Dublin’s Brown Bag Films, Bing is based on the books by award-winning author-illustrator Ted Dewan, and celebrates the noisy, joyful, messy reality of everyday life as a preschooler as it follows bunny Bing and his caregiver Flop. The show broadcasts in many key territories, including U.K., France, Germany, Benelux, Israel, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand.
Bing has been nominated for a BAFTA and won the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Children’s Television Episode (2014) and the International Emmy Award in the Kids Preschool category (2016). It is also a consistent top performer for animation on the U.K. iTunes store, and boasts 94 million downloads on BBC’s iPlayer in addition to 290k-plus DVD copy sales.
DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender makes its debut on Netflix streaming with a one-hour origin story (plus another 10 twenty-two minute, action-packed episodes) this Friday, June 10. To get in the mood, check out the just released “Shiro vs. Sendak” clip and some cool character images courtesy of DreamWorks Animation.
And, don’t miss our story on the new series in the June/July issue of Animation Magazine (#261)!
Voltron Legendary Defender
EMPEROR ZARKON – voiced by Neil Kaplan (“Power Rangers,” “Naruto”)
Emperor Zarkon is the ruthless leader of the Galra Empire. 10,000 years ago, Zarkon fought to steal the Voltron lions from King Alfor. Ever since Alfor sent the lions to the far corners of the universe, Zarkon has been on a quest to obtain Voltron once and for all.
Voltron Legendary Defender
COMMANDER SENDAK – voiced by Jake Eberle
Sendak is a cold-blooded fighter and Zarkon’s number one military leader. He lost his arm during his time on the front lines and has had it replaced with a robot appendage featuring a nasty claw and a laser blaster. He will do anything he can to defeat Voltron and earn Zarkon’s respect.
Voltron Legendary Defender
HAGGAR – voiced by Cree Summer (“Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Dawn of the Croods”)
Haggar is an ageless, psychic witch and a loyal advisor to Zarkon. Over the years she has formed a coven of druids, her own order of followers to do her bidding and aid her evil plans. Together they create the Robeasts to battle Voltron.
Toronto-based Guru Studio has come on board international animated feature co-production The Breadwinner, joining co-producers Aircraft Pictures (Canada), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland) and Melusine Productions (Luxembourg) in association with Angelina Jolie Pitt’s Jolie Pas Productions.
The Breadwinner will be the studio’s first feature project. Guru’s President & Creative Director Frank Falcone and EVP Content & Strategy Mary Bredin join as Executive Producers. Additionally, Stuart Shankly (Ever After High, Song of the Sea) will represent Guru as Assistant Director, alongside director Nora Twomey, spending several months in Ireland at the start of production. And Guru’s Sanatan Suryavanshi is working closely with Cartoon Saloon on look development for key sequences as Production Art Supervisor.
“Guru was the clear choice when considering Canadian animation studios to work with,” said producer Anthony Leo, of Aircraft Pictures. “They will bring another level of creativity and artistic vision to this picture.”
Set for 2017, The Breadwinner; is based on the award-winning novel by Deborah Ellis. The story centers on Parvana, a brave young girl living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan who must disguise herself as a boy to become the breadwinner of the family when her father is unjustly imprisoned. A story of self-empowerment and imagination in the face of oppression, The Breadwinner also celebrates the culture, history and beauty of Afghanistan.
Six new short film works from the 11th edition of National Film Board of Canada’s Hothouse program are now available for free viewing online at NFB.ca. Hothouse is designed to kick-start the careers of notable Canadian animation auteurs.
This year’s theme was “Found Sound 2.0” – a reboot of last year’s successful concept which relied on the participating filmmakers to find inspiration in audio clips sourced from the web. This year, participants could either use one of the 14 pre-selected clips or submit a “found sound” of their choice.
This edition also was the first time that participants were able to work remotely with the NFB’s Oscar-winning Animation Studio in Montreal via their nearest NFB productions resulting in a truly national span for Hothouse 11 from Curtis Horsburgh in Victoria, Rhayne Vermette in Winnipeg, Catherine Dubeau and Pascaline Lefebvre in Montreal, Lorna Kirk in Halifax and Duncan Major in St. John’s.
Hothouse 11’s mentoring director was Malcolm Sutherland, a Montreal-based director, animator and designer for film, TV, web commercials and music videos — and the first Hothouse alum to return as a project manager. The program is produced for NFB’s Animation Studio by Maral Mohammadian with Jon Montes as associate producer. Territory producers and associate producers were Teri Snelgrove (BC & Yukon Studio, Vancouver), Alicia Smith (North West Studio, Winnipeg), Paul McNeill (Atlantic Studio, Halifax) and Kelly Davis (Atlantic Studio, St. John’s).
Hothouse 11 films are:
Fyoog by Curtis Horsburgh: A story about a dream about a train, inspired by found sound of a Toronto subway car. Stop-motion and 2D.
Him by Lorna Kirk: A timely short that uses found sound to explore the powerlessness of the refugee experience as a child seeks safety in a war zone. Hand-drawn in charcoal.
Little Big Bang by Duncan Major: A new parent learns about free expression and the power of letting go; inspired by the filmmaker’s new baby as well as found sound. Animated with manual table top press and hand-carved linoleum blocks.
Mindofork by Catherine Dubeau: A visual descent into madness triggered by the effort to keep it all together, nspired by the sounds of an English language lesson.
Pumpers by Pascaline Lefebvre: A good, hard look at the bizarre behavior of people working out in a gym, Inspired by found baby noises.
UFO by Rhayne Vermette: Inspire by found sound from the discovery of a mysterious event in the sky — Have the onlookers interpreted its signs correctly, or was the message misunderstood?
The second-largest free TV channel in Brazil, SBT, has begun airing hit Russian animated series Masha and the Bear, currently broadcasting season one episodes Monday through Friday at during its Carrossel Animado block, which starts at 7 a.m. SBT has acquired rights to both seasons of Masha from Animaccord, picking up a total of 52 episodes.
Masha and the Bear is showing steady growth in popularity in Brazil thanks to the SBT debut, existing partnership with Turner, and the planned expansion of the brand’s licensing program into the country in the fourth quarter this year. Animaccord that the large audience of both its regional broadcasting partners in the area will drive huge demand for branded products, according to VP Vladimir Gorbulya.
Dogs Can Fly serves as agent for Masha and the Bear throughout Latin America.
