Ringling College of Art and Design has announced the winners of its third annual Creative Awards Competition for high school students (grades 9-12) in the U.S. This year’s contest centered on developing a concept for a theme park attraction or museum exhibition based on a movie, book, song or original idea. Universal Orlando Resort and Wacom were this year’s corporate partners.
The Grand Prize winners are Alyson Del Pino (11th grade) and Lisette Del Pino (12th grade) of the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, taught by Christian Losa; and Sky Russell (12th grade) of Freedom High School in Tampa, taught by DJ Fintel. Their prize is an all-expense paid trip to Universal Studios in Orlando. Alyson Del Pino also won the My Choice Award and a $250 gift card.
Also receiving awards were Meagan Killian (10th grade) from Whitehouse High School in Tyler, Texas, who earned the Ringling College Precollege Scholarship; and Heya Lee (10th grade) of North Allegheny Intermediate High School in Wexford, Pennsylvania, who received a WACOM Cintiq Companion 2 Tablet.
Entering the Creative Awards consists of the submission of an illustration or digital media entry supported by a 50 to 100 word written description, or a stand-alone written entry in any form of up to 500 words. More information can be found at ringlingcreativeawards.info.
Photo depicts Creative Awards Winners from Miami’s New World School of the Arts and their teacher, Christian Losa. Left to Right – Sabrina Diehl, Lisette Del Pino, Teacher Chris Losa, Ryan Haney and Alyson Del Pino. Photo by New World student Bleu Cremers.
DreamWorks Channel Reaches Singapore
Cable platform StarHub to launch channel March 3 with both linear and on-demand service for English and Mandarin speaking audiences.
Finalists for the 2016 British Animation Awards — celebrating its 20th anniversary this year — have been announced. Held every two years, the BAAs honor the very best in British animation across a variety of categories, with past winners including Tim Burton, Nick Park, Simon Tofield (Simon’s Cat), Harry Potter and the Gorillaz. This year’s ceremony will be held at London’s BFI Southbank on March 10.
This year’s contenders include Long Form Animation nominees Stick Man, Children of the Holocaust and Shaun the Sheep: The Movie; Children’s Series nominees Scream Street “Resus Rocks,” The Amazing World of Gumball “The Shell” and Rastamouse “School of Rock;” and fighting for the Preschool Series award are Hey Duggee “The Omelette Brigade,” Clangers “I am the Eggbot” and Lily’s Driftwood Bay “Goodbye.”
Full List of BAA Finalists
Best Long Form Animation
Stick Man
Directors Jeroen Jaspaert & Daniel Sanddon
Producers Michael Rose & Martin Pope
Children of the Holocaust
Director Zane Whittingham Animation Ryan Jones, Oana Nechifor & Laura Tattersfield
Produced by Fettle Animation for BBC Learning
Shaun the Sheep: The Movie
Directors/Script Mark Burton & Richard Starzak
Producers Julie Lockhart & Paul Kewley
Produced by Aardman Animations for Studio Canal
Best Voice
Rastamouse: Discovery Day
Voice William Vanderpuye as Zoomer, Professor, Brandston, Rubba (Twin), Spike Cheez, FATS, Bagga-T and
Producers Eugenio Perez & Gregory Boardman
Produced by Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company for CBeebies
Stick Man
Voice Martin Freeman as Stick Man
Producers Michael Rose & Martin Pope
Puffin Rock: Night Lights
Producers Paul Young, John McDaid, Nora Twomey & Laura Campbell
Produced by Dog Ears Ltd for Nick Jr.
Best Children’s Series and Children’s Choice Award
Scream Street: Resus Rocks
Director Geoff Walker
Producer Phil Chalk
Produced by Coolabi Productions & Factory, in association with ZDF Enterprises for CBBC Co-funded by the European Union
The Amazing World of Gumball: The Shell
Directors Mic Graves & Ben Bocquelet
Producer Sarah Fell
Produced by Turner Broadcasting for Cartoon Network
Rastamouse: School of Rock
Director Derek Mogford
Producers Eugenio Perez & Gregory Boardman
Produced by Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company for CBeebies
Best Pre-School Series
HEY DUGGEE: The Omelette Badge
Director Grant Orchard
Producer Janine Voong
Produced by Studio AKA for CBeebies
Clangers: I Am the Eggbot
Directors: Mole Hill and Chris Tichborne
Series Producer Dan Maddicott
Produced by Coolabi Productions Ltd & Factory for CBeebies
Lily’s Driftwood Bay: Goodbye
Directors Colin Williams & Darren Vandenburg
Producer Colin Williams
Produced by Sixteen South for Nick Jr.
Best Music Video
Amaro & Walden’s Joyride
Director Tim McCourt & Max Taylor
Producers Electric Theatre Collective
Produced by The Line in collaboration with Hugo Chegwin & Fred Berry
James: Moving On
Directed and produced by Ainslie Henderson
Produced by An Independent Production for BMG
Benjamin Scheuer: Cookie-tin Banjo
Directed and produced by Peter Baynton
Produced by Radish Pictures for Escapist Records
Best Commissioned Animation: Promotional
HIAS: For the Refugees
Directors Moth Collective
Produced by Moth Collective for HIAS
What Do You See?
Director Sally Arthur
Producer Melissa Blackburn
Produced by Unchosen for Unchosen
Forest 500
Directors Moth Collective
Producer Moth Collective
Produced by Moth Collective for the Global Canopy Programme
Best Commissioned Animation: Documentary
Hiroshima
Director Angus McKeown
Producer Lewis James (BBC)
Produced by Made in Colour for CBBC/BBC Newsround
Modern Love: A Kiss
Director Moth Collective
Producer Nicholas van der Kolk
Produced by Moth Collective for The New York Times
Animated Minds: Stories of Postnatal Depression
Series directed and produced by George Sander-Jackson
Produced by Mosaic Films for Wellcome Trust & Maudsley Charity
Best Short Film
Teeth
Directors Daniel Gray & Tom Brown
Produced by Holbrooks Films
Dead Air
Director Robert Bradbrook
Producer Casey Herbert
Produced by Bright Cold Day Films & Bradbrook Films with support from the Arts Foundation
Let’s Play Nomad X
Directed and produced by Kristian Andrews
Produced by Kristian Andrews Production
Best Animation in a Commercial
Sainsbury’s: Mog Christmas Calamity
Director James Rouse (Outsider)
Senior Producer Heather Kinal (Framestore) & Benji Howell (Outsider)
Produced by Outsider & Framestore for AMV BBDO
Anchor: Little Elephant
Directors Kyra & Constantin
Producer Matt Saxton
Produced by Passion Picture for Creature London
Mariposa: Family
Director nextdoor (Jack Cunningham)
Producer Jo Bierton
Produced by Nexus Productions for Barber Osgerby
Best Film/TV Graphics
Food Network: Criminal Baking
Director Andrew Kelleher
Producer David Anderson
Produced by Dog & Rabbit for Food Network
The Power of Privacy
Directors: Callum Cooper & Matthias Hoegg
Producer Carrie Budge
Produced by Carrie Budge for The Guardian
Hiroshima: Bun’s Story
Director Angus McKeown
Producer Lewis James (BBC)
Produced by Made in Colour for CBBC/BBC Newsround
Sound Designer & Mixer Adrian Rhodes Music René Aubry
Directors Jeroen Jaspaert & Daniel Snaddon
Producers Michael Rose & Martin Pope
Produced by Bright Cold Day Films & Bradbrook Films with support from the Arts Foundation
Audio Effects & Mix Ben Hood at Platform Post
Produced by Karrot Entertainment for CBeebies & BBC Worldwide
Best Student Film: Undergraduate
Produced at Staffordshire University
Produced at University of the Creative Arts, Farnham
Produced at University of the Creative Arts, Farnham
Best Student Film: Postgraduate
Produced at the National Film & Television School
Produced at the Royal College of Art
Produced at the Royal College of Art
Cartoon Movie, the European pitching and co-production event for animated features, has announced the finalists in the running for Cartoon Tributes at the 2016 edition. The awards honor outstanding contribution to the development of European animation over the last year, under the Director, Distributor and Producer of the Year categories. Over 750 professionals attending Cartoon Movie 2016 are charged with selecting the winners, which will be announced in Lyon, France on March 4.
And the nominees are:
European Director of the Year
Michael Ekblad, Ted Sieger & Matthias Bruhn (Germany), for Ted Sieger’s Molly Monster – The Movie
Jan Bultheel (Belgium), for his first feature, Cafard
Rémi Chayé (France), for Long Way North (Audience Award, Annecy 2015; Young Public Award, Anima 2016)
European Distributor of the Year
BIR Film (Turkey), which has brought Coconut the Little Dragon, Raven the Little Rascal – The Big Race, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Persepolis, The Painting, Freddy Frogface and Marco Macaco to Turkey and locally represents all Studio Ghibli titles.
SF Film (Denmark), distributed in 2014 Emil & Ida from Lonneberg, Pettersson & Findus and Postman Pat, and in 2015 Paddington, Shaun the Sheep, Song of the Sea and Asterix.
La Belle Company (France), a Paris-based company that is one of the top 20 distributors in France. They had great success distributing Maya the Bee and are currently distributing Loving Vincent, being presented at this year’s Cartoon Movie.
European Producer of the Year
MAD Entertainment (Italy), for The Art of Happiness and Cinderella the Cat
Ulysses Filmproduktion, Fabrique d’Images, Grid Animation and Moetion Films (Germany/Luxembourg/Belgium/Ireland) for Ooops! Noah Is Gone…
Ankama Animations (France) for Dofus – Book 1: Julith
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced the 2016 officers for its Board of Directors. The officers, who comprise the VES Board Executive Committee, were elected at the January 2016 Board meeting.
Officer include Mike Chambers, who was re-elected as Board Chair; 1st Vice Chair Jeffrey A. Okun, 2nd Vice Chair Nancy St. John, Treasurer Susan Thurmond O’Neal and Secretary Rita Cahill.
Mike Chambers is an independent Visual Effects Producer and freelance VFX Consultant, specializing in large-scale feature film productions. He is currently in post-production on Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass (Disney). He most recently completed work on Transcendence, the directorial debut of award-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister, following their collaborations on The Dark Knight Rises and Inception for Christopher Nolan (WB). Mike has contributed to visual effects on many Academy & BAFTA award-winning films, and has personally won two VES Awards for Best Visual Effects, for The Day After Tomorrow and Inception, and has been nominated for his work on I Am Legend.
Jeffrey A. Okun is currently working on Albert Hughes’ The Solutrean for Studio 8 and Sony Pictures. He is known for creating ‘organic’ and invisible effects, as well as spectacular ‘tent-pole’ visual effects that blend seamlessly into the storytelling aspect of the project, and has won the VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects for his work on The Last Samurai. Okun was recently named a Fellow of the VES, as well as the recipient of the Founder’s Award. He also created and co-edited the VES Handbook of Visual Effects and served as VES Board Chair for seven years.
Nancy St. John has help build VFX facilities around the world over the last 30+ years and has produced, executive produced and consulted with a Who’s Who of renowned VFX and computer animation facilities. The list includes Robert Abel & Associates, Digital Productions, Pacific Data Images, Industrial Light & Magic, Rhythm & Hues, Mill Film London and Prime Focus Vancouver. Most recently as studio-side VFX Producer she completed onset work for the highly anticipated new Ghostbusters, directed by Paul Feig. St. John previously served as the VES 1st Vice Chair and is also a member of the Producers Guild of America.
Susan Thurmond O’Neal has more than 18 years of experience in the visual effects industry, during which she’s worked to build teams, track progress, inspire artistry and liaison for high-profile clients. Susan is currently a creative recruiter for BLT Recruiting and has worked as Ops Manager at The Mill, Ops Director at Escape Studios, Account Manager at Side Effects Software and head of production at R!OT Pictures. She has also worked on teams that produced such films and projects as T2:3D – Battle Across Time, Titanic, The Italian Job, West Wing and Six Feet Under. O’Neal is Co-chair of the Education Committee, Chair of the Membership Committee and creator of the ad hoc “Cross Pollination” Committee, whose mission is to explore industries parallel to VFX for employment opportunities for the VES membership.
Rita Cahill is an international business and marketing/PR consultant for a number of US, Canadian, Asian and EU companies for animation and visual effects feature films. Current and former clients include VFX and animation companies Digital Domain, Look FX, Method Studios, Milk VFX, The Mill, The Orphanage, Rainmaker Animation, Rajtaru Studios, The Senate, Shade VFX, Shanghai Cartoon, Shanghai SFS Digital, Trixter Film, Vertigo Digital and Xing Xing Digital, along with industry related organizations Animation Mentor, Jiaflix Enterprises and Wuxi Studios. She is also a partner in MakeBelieve Entertainment, a film development company, and serves as Executive Producer on a number of international projects. This will be Cahill’s second term as Secretary. Cahill has served as Chair or Co-Chair of the VES Summit for the past six years.
Over the weekend during the Long Beach Comic Expo in southern California, an energetic crowd gathered to celebrate the second annual Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics. Following a ceremony hosted by Khary Payton, Charlotte McDuffie announced that Ms. Marvel writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona were the winners of the 2016 award.
The Ms. Marvel duo were in competition with four other finalists: Andre the Giant: Closer to Heaven (writer Brandon Easton & artist Denis Medri; IDW Publishing), Fresh Romance (edited by Janelle Asselin; Rosy Press), Moon Girl and the Devil Dinosaur (writers Brandon Montclare & Amy Reeder, artist Natacha Bustos; Marvel Ent.) and Zana (writer Jean Barker & artist Joey Granger; Emet Comics).
Charlotte (Fullerton) McDuffie offered congratulations to the winners and all the nominees, saying: “I would like to personally thank every one of them for choosing the comic book medium to share their artistic visions with the world — not only creating more diversity in the industry, but also raising the bar for excellence in the world itself, just as Dwayne always did. The motto of this McDuffie Award is: From invisible to inevitable — Dwayne’s words. Please continue to do his legacy proud.”
The Award is named in honor of legendary writer and producer Dwayne McDuffie, who co-founded Milestone Media. As a writer, McDuffie created or co-created more than a dozen comic-book series, including Damage Control, Deathlok II, Icon, Static, Xombi, The Road to Hell and Hardware. Nilah Magruder, the Award’s first recipient, also spoke at this year’s ceremony.
This year’s Award selection committee included Neo Edmund, Joan Hilty, Joseph Illidge, Heidi MacDonald, William J. Watkins and Matt Wayne.
9 Story Media Group has licensed animated series Nature Cat (40 x 22) to DHX Television’s kids’ channel Family CHRGD in Canada. The show is expected to debut on the channel this summer.
Created by Spiffy Pictures and co-produced by Spiffy and WTTW Chicago, Nature Cat premiered in November 2015 on PBS KIDS in the U.S. The show follows the adventures of Nature Cat, who can’t wait to get outside each day for a daring excursion, but there’s one problem: he’s a house cat with no instincts for nature. With the help of his animal friends, Nature Cat embarks on action-packed adventures that include exciting missions full of investigation, “aha” discovery moments and humour, all while inspiring children to go outside and play.
Nature Cat features the voices of Saturday Night Live veterans Taran Killam (Nature Cat), Kate McKinnon (Squeeks), Bobby Moynihan (Hal), Chris Parnell (various) and Kenan Thompson (Ronald), along with Kate Micucci (Daisy).
9 Story handles international distribution and consumer products for the brand outside of the U.S., while HiHat Media handles brand licensing domestically.
Dublin-based Monster Entertainment has secured a broadcast deal with Gulli AFRICA for new South African-produced series Jabu’s Jungle. The series will be aired across 22 French-speaking African countries through the deal.
Aimed at kids 4-7, Jabu’s Jungle (13 x 22) is an animated adventure series that follows Jabu, an intrepid nine-year-old, and his Magic Talking Drum as they explore the jungle, helping animals in need. Along the way they meet plenty of friends who join in the fun, but need to be always on the lookout for naughty Van the Vulture. Set to a vibrant Afro-pop soundtrack, Jabu’s Jungle has a unique African look and feel and introduces children to the wonders of the continent’s animal life and exotic locations.
A Pixcomm production, Jabu’s Jungle is being made in Cape Town’s Masiphumelele township utilizing a unique production approach that partners experienced animators with residents from the township. Working side by side with industry professionals, the talented, young artists are given a hands-on, apprentice style training that allows them to earn money as they learn. Being based in a township, Pixcomm has managed to take the work and the training to the community and the results are exciting and fresh.
Season 2 is currently in production, to be launched by Monster Ent. at MIPJunior this fall. Monster also distributes South African series Jungle Beat — broadcast in 196 territories so far — and Magic Cellar, which also recently sold to Gulli AFRICA.
Pukeko Pictures has appointed Lisa Chatfield as Head of Scripted Development, strengthening the New Zealand studio’s content creation team. Chatfield will come on board in April, working closely with CCO Martin Baynton and Head of Production Angela Littlejohn on the company’s development slate, as well as TV series in production. Current projects include live-action drama Cleverman and the hit re-invigoration of Thunderbirds Are Go! (with ITV Studios).
Chatfield was most recently the Head of Development and Production at the New Zealand Film Commission. Her time with the organization coincided with the financing of the first animated feature documentary produced in the country, Leanne Pooley’s exploration of the tragic 1915 Galipoli Campaign of WWI.
Having logged 25 years in her TV and film career, Chatfield brings experience on short film, TV, commercial and feature film production to her new post. She has worked across both development and production on domestic and international slates for Working Title Australia, NHNZ and Eyeworks NZ. At age 25, she produced the New Zealand box office hit Scarfies and was the youngest producer at the time to receive investment from the NZ Film Commission. Earlier in her career she worked as a runner on Oscar nominated feature Heavenly Creatures and worked in kids’ TV in New Zealand and the U.K.
Due to overwhelming demand, Bento Box Entertainment in partnership with Loren Bouchard’s Wilo Productions has added a second evening show for Bob’s Burgers Live! in Los Angeles. Since the live events began touring in 2013, every show across the country has been a sell-out, averaging nearly 3,000 attendees in major cities.
The first two Bob’s Burgers Live! shows will take place in Los Angeles at The Wiltern, on April 29 and now again on April 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available from wiltern.com and livenation.com. See our previous article for more information on the show.
The Kidscreen Summit’s 2016 edition achieved a five percent year-on-year increase on registrations, the organizers announced. Nearly 1,800 attendees convened in Miami, Florida just over a week ago for four days of business networking and professional learning for the children’s entertainment industry.
Kidscreen 2016 notably saw a rise in delegates from Australia (up 40%), the UK (up 15%) and North America (up 11%), contributing to the event’s overall growth. A 32% rise in attendees representing the consumer products sector and new delegations from countries such as South Africa and Colombia were also key factors.
The 2017 event is set for Feb. 13-16 at the InterContinental Miami.
Loot Crate, the company behind popular monthly subscription goody box services Loot Crate, Loot Gaming, Loot Pets and Level Up, has partnered with anime streaming service Crunchyroll to make its Loot Anime line even more kakkoii. Co-branded with Loot Anime and Crunchyroll, the improved service will offer fans a comprehensive anime experience.
Loot Crate, which services more than half a million “Looters” across its options for geeks, gamers and pop culture lovers, supplies subscribers with monthly mystery boxes containing exclusive collectibles, apparel and accessories. Crunchyroll’s strong ties to Japanese licensors means that Loot Anime subscribers will receive high-quality anime merchandise — including figures, collectibles, manga, apparel and accessories — and gain access to exclusive items paired with the latest streaming content and licenses available from Crunchyroll. Additional exclusive benefits will be announced later.
Existing Loot Anime subscribers will see no change in cost, and the subscription price and frequency will remain the same. The Loot Anime service offers packages starting at $22.95 per month, with each crate valued at over $60.
In the mood for some frightfully funny forest shenanigans? Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has got you covered, with the latest installment of Boog and Elliot’s crazy adventures coming to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD on March 8 in Open Season: Scared Silly. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Open Season franchise, and thanks to SPA we’re celebrating with a little exclusive clip from one of the release’s How to Draw bonus features.
Produced by Sony Pictures Animation with CG animation from Rainmaker Entertainment, Open Season: Scared Silly is a heartwarming and humorous PG adventure that begins around a campfire when Elliot (voiced by Will Townsend) tells a scary story about a monster in the woods. Boog (Donny Lucas), never the bravest bare, becomes Elliot’s helpless victim in a plot to “scare the fear” out of his pal. With the help of Mr. Weenie, McSquizzy and the rest of the forest friends, of course.
Scared Silly is directed by Open Season head of story and Cow and Chicken creator David Feiss, and produced by John Bush (The Simpsons). The voice cast also features Trevor Devall, Kathleen Barr, Garry Chalk and Melissa Sturm.
The DVD, Blu-ray and Digital releases all include the bonus features Open Season Super Speedy Re-Cap (a fast-paced look at the previous three films), audio commentary with David Feiss and writer Carlos Kotkin, and a director profile on Feiss. Blu-ray and Digital versions also boast “Stepping into the Spotlight – Mr. Weenie’s Process” — in which everyone’s favorite dachshund prepares for his most challenging scenes; “Scaredy Pants: The Fears of Open Season: Scared Silly” — which delves into the characters’ deepest fears; and bloopers and outtakes from the new film.
A long lost masterpiece of psychedelic ‘70s animation is being brought back from oblivion, and now thanks to Cinelicious Pics, SpectreVision and The Cinefamily you can watch a new trailer Eiichi Yamamoto’s controversial 1973 film, Belladonna of Sadness. The provocative adult-targeted anime has been restored in 4K for its first-ever U.S. theatrical release.
Belladonna of Sadness is a mind-bending, sensual story about an innocent young woman named Jeanne who makes a pact with the devil (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai from Akira Kurosawa’s Ran). The animation draws on numerous classic and contemporary artistic inspirations flashing to the beats of Japanese psych rock composed by Masahiko Satoh. The picture was the last in the adult toon Animerama Trilogy produced by Osamu Tezuka and has been restored by Cinelicious from the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements — including over 8 minutes cut from the negative.
The restored Belladonna of Sadness will open May 6 at the new Metrograph theater in New York, San Francisco’s Alamo Drafthouse and at The Cinefamily in Los Angeles the week of May 13, with a national roll-out to follow. Accompanying the release is a book from Hat & Beard and Cinelicious: Belladonna of Sadness: A Companion to the 1973 Cult Japanese Anime Film. The book features first-ever in-depth interviews with Yamamoto, illustrator Kuni Fukai and composer Satoh, plus color art reproductions and interviews with the restoration artists.
The regular and Limited Edition (including Blu-ray, poster, pins and more) of the book are available for preorder on Hat & Bear’s website.
Brooklyn-based design and animation studio Houses in Motion was tapped by Nick Jr. to produce a playful, wintery broadcast package. The “Warm & Fuzzy” project included a series of promos, IDs and bumpers featuring stylized versions of characters from some of the network’s popular shows, along with some new adorable critters to join in the frosty frolics — all brought to life in stop-motion animation that shows off the characters’ handcrafted looks.
Houses lead the production, creating over 20 stop-motion vignettes and dozens of animated graphic elements in under five weeks. The studio’s pipeline had to quickly and seamlessly take the package from concept development through storyboarding, shooting the animation, motion graphics and visual effects.
Producer, director and Houses in Motion co-founder John Earle laid out an ambitious schedule for his team to shoot four to six vignettes a day. The studio worked closely with Nick Jr.’s fabricator, Julia Rosner, whose LA team customized the 4” characters and set pieces.
In addition to accurately portraying the personalities of established characters like Dora, Blaze and Marshall, Houses developed distinct traits for the new animal characters they meet in the spots. These include a diva penguin, a bumbling polar bear and the carefree buddies fox and rabbit.
The rapid-fire pace was aided by a magnetic tie-down rig for the puppets proposed by DP Chris Webb, allowing the crew to reuse sets without having to change out damaged surfaces. During shooting, the art department was constantly on alert in case additional elements were needed, and turned some around in minutes. Houses’ post-production artists handled cleanup in Adobe Lightroom and After Effects, and added visual effects like snowfall and lighting.
Antonella Ceraso has joined Planeta Junior as Country Manager for Spain and Portugal, the Barcelona-based production and distribution company announces. In her new role, Ceraso will be responsible for developing business and strategy in the Iberian markets, with an initial focus on DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls and Studio 100’s Heidi. She reports to Int’l Commercial Director Diego Ibanez Belaustegui.
A graduate of the University of Calabria Economics program, Antonella Ceraso has over 10 years working experience in licensing and brand management. Notable career points include serving as Country Manager at Rainbow, where she was responsible for developing business in Europe, US and Latin America as well as relationships with key agents, co-producers and license holders. She also worked at Copyright Promotions Licensing Group, managing relationships with rights holders including DreamWorks Animation, Fox, Universal, MGM and CBS as well as key Italian licensees.
