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  • Annecy Selected Shorts: Brilliant Visions in an Uncertain World

    Annecy Selected Shorts: Brilliant Visions in an Uncertain World

    ***This article originally appeared in the June-July ’20 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 301)***

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Annecy Festival will be held online. Nothing really replaces seeing a new short with a packed house full of animation lovers, but at least the virtual version of the event provides a spotlight for many artists to showcase their work. We chatted with some of the talented directors whose shorts were selected for the Official Competition at the festival to find out more about their process, inspirations and individual stories.

    You can find all the screening selections, full program and registration info at www.annecy.org.

    Adrien Merigeau, Genius Loci

    Adrien Merigeau was inspired to make his award-winning short Genius Loci after spending time with an Irish friend who seemed to be living a spiritual experience. “I wanted to write about different states of consciousness and about abandon, in the way that you leave a specific state in order to drift to another state, from being functioning to being useless, from the cultural to the natural, like a glass of water tipping over, and the existential change that comes with that transition,” says the talented artist, who also directed the Cristal-nominated short Old Fangs (2010) and was the art director on Cartoon Saloon’s Song of the Sea. “I was also very inspired by the American music composer John Cage, for whom all the activity of sound is considered music — it’s only the act of listening that changes. I wanted to talk about urban chaos and how it can feel like being in nature.”

    Genius Loci Teaser from adrien merigeau on Vimeo.

    Merigeau wrote the initial script and visual development and got the greenlight for production in 2016. It took him almost four year to finish the well-crafted short, which won the top prize at this year’s Berlin and GLAS festivals. It was produced mostly at Folimage Studio’s Valence location. The director notes, “Luckily, I was able to use their workshop to have a team of about five people working with me. I started animating on paper but quickly changed to TVPaint when the team of animators was hired, for efficiency. We then printed out all the animation frames on normal A4 paper and taped watercolor paper onto it and colored it with inks with a light table.”

    He says although the process was time consuming, he loves the organic feel of the result. “I would still have liked to keep everything on paper because it feels to me that drawing on paper has a meditative feel that I don’t get on the computer, but the film was too long and we didn’t have enough time for that,” adds the director.

    When asked about his biggest influences, the French helmer says, “Tomm Moore is a massive influence for me in the way that he adapts folklore to his modern visual language, and then Yuri Norstein, Stuart Hilton, When the Day Breaks by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby and Cat Soup by Masaaki Yuasa would be some favorites of mine.”

    For now, the director is letting the short have its own life as more people discover it at festivals this year. “In some ways my work with this film is done now and how the film lives from this moment onward is not really up to me anymore,” he admits. “But if there was one general idea that was carried through the making of Genius Loci, and that I would be happy to see radiate from it, it would be that some things don’t have to mean anything in order to give us pleasure.”

    Camila Kater, Carne

    When Brazilian animator Camila Kater was a young girl, she recalls her family talking about issues surrounding gaining weight and going on diets. “I lived with my mother, my aunt and my sister, and I remember being very concerned about my body at the age of six,” she says. “My personal experiences and the stories I heard from my family were the inspirations behind Carne.”

    CARNE, Camila Kater, [TRAILER with English subtitles] from FREAK Independent Film Agency on Vimeo.

    Kater further explains, “The idea for the ironic association between women’s bodies and the meat cooking points came from a conversation I had with my sister, Bruna Kater. We delved into Simone de Beauvoir’s discussion about how we women are seen as a body before being considered human beings — even as an object of consumption — and how this perception of the body changes according to our age, sexual orientation, race, social class, profession, etc.”

    The short began pre-production in the beginning of 2018 and took about a year and a half to complete. The project is an Ibero-American co-production: Lívia Perez (Doctela) produced Carne in Brazil and Chelo Loureiro (Abano Producións) produced in Spain. Carne has five chapters, and each one is animated by a different woman animator (Kater, Giovana Affonso, Flávia Godoy, Cassandra Reis, Leila Monsegur).

    “Each one of us animated our chapters in our houses in Brazil,” says Kater. “We used softwares like Dragonframe for the stop motion; Toon Boom, Photoshop and TVPaint for the 2D animation. Each chapter was made in a different medium: oil painting and objects, watercolor, 2D digital, clay and painting on the 35mm film. The idea to explore different media came after interviewing the first protagonist, Rachel Patrício, and the intention was to represent the diversity in the film and create a sensorial perception for each individual story.”

    Kater says the biggest challenge was the documentary nature of the project. “I felt it was a great responsibility to tell the five protagonists’ stories. Myself and Ana Julia Carvalheiro, who wrote the script with me, were very concerned about respecting the intimate testimonies which were trusted to us. The unpredictable aspect of the documentary also scared me in the beginning, because in animation everything must be very well planned beforehand, and being unable to know how the interviews were going to be was uneasy. However, the surprises turned out to be the best part of the process.”

    The director mentions the works of Elizabeth Hobbs, Rosana Urbes and Michèle Cournoyer as some of her major influences. She adds, “I hope the short helps people realize how this cruel association between women’s body and meat cooking points affects how we women relate to our own body in different ages and how race, sexual orientation, gender identity, social position, profession (among other factors) can generate different experiences.”

    Natko Stipaničev, Arka

    Serbian animator Natko Stipaničev recalls having a conversation with poet Maša Seničić on the final night of his residency at MultiMadeira about four years ago. “I was there for a month and didn’t come up with any good ideas for my script,” he says. “I had already given up, but then I started talking about cruise ships that had anchored in front of us in the port of Funchal, and that’s when the idea suddenly struck!”

    Arka – TRAILER from Bonobostudio on Vimeo.

    “It took me about three years from the idea to the final film, but mostly because I was learning animation along the way, so I was watching tutorials half of the time!” says Stipaničev. “The good thing about it was that I had a clear goal and all the learning helped in solving actual problems and going forward with the film. I produced the short mostly on one laptop with Cinema 4D and After Effects.”

    The creative animator says his biggest challenge was to come up with a solid script and a good animatic. “Once I believed it was going to be a good film and developing this passion for it, producing was a pleasure and a very enjoyable task. Now that it’s ready, I just hope audiences will enjoy the short.”

    When asked about his influences, he mentions Jérémy Clapin. “His short films are probably the reason I started animating,” says Stipaničev. “I also really admire the works of Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels.”

    Alberto Vázquez, Homeless Home

    Those of us who have fallen in love with Alberto Vázquez’s animated gems such as Birdboy and Decorado know to expect great things from the Spanish director. Luckily, he is offering a new short titled Homeless Home just in time for this year’s Annecy festival. He says the inspiration came from the medieval fantasies he read as a young boy.

    “My idea was to work from a world similar to The Lord of the Rings, but from a personal perspective,” says the director. “I’m interested in working with the genre to do the opposite of what is expected, and that’s how the idea for this short film came about, which is a kind of social and existential history contextualized in a medieval fantasy world. Homeless Home has been a little different, because until now, all my films featured anthropomorphic animals within fable worlds, while in this short film the main characters are witches, ogres, sorcerers, skeletons and orcs in a different environment!”

    Vázquez says it took him and his team about a year and a half to finish the project. “At first it was just a superficial idea, but my producers sent it to a grant in France and they awarded it to us, so we had to do the short film,” he tells us. “The animation was produced between Spain and France — from UNIKO and Auteur de Minuit, the producers I work with. They were in charge of carrying out this short film. We used Flash to make the rough animation, and then we painted and did the light using Photoshop frame by frame. The backgrounds are made in Photoshop;, some worked with a photographic base and others not. Visually, the atmosphere is quite dark and pictorial, moving away a bit from the graphic nature of my other productions. The characters are drawn as semi-silhouettes that integrate very well with these textured and pictorial backgrounds.”

    “I like my shorts to be entertaining, but I really hope they’ll be remembered and that they make the audience reflect,” adds Vázquez. “I would also like the work to be interesting on a visual and symbolic level and try to have a certain personality — that is, to do something that sets us apart from other productions and apart from trends or fashions.”

    Among his influences, Vázquez names classics such as Watership Down, Barefoot Gen, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Spirited Away and Akira. “Actually my tastes are very classic,” he adds. “I like timeless works, which do not fit in any time and place. During these past two months in quarantine, I have watched many historical documentaries combined with lots of classic cinema. I also enjoyed Adult Swim’s The Shivering Truth, the stop-motion series directed by Vernon Chatman. I really liked it because it’s so haunting, dark and unforgettable, and has an absurd sense of humor.”

    The talented Spanish helmer is also working on his next movie, Unicorn Wars. He is kind enough to leave us with some advice: “When writing stories, it’s always a good idea to pass them through your own filter, for your personal experiences. Try not to fall into clichés and contribute your own vision of the world, because in that way, they will be more honest for the viewers. In other words, don’t try to be the artist that you’re not!”

    Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Something to Remember

    Three years ago, Niki Lindroth von Bahr dazzled worldwide audiences with The Burden, her charming musical short which won the big Cristal prize at Annecy. This year, the talented Swedish director is back with another whimsical look at the foibles of the human/animal experience.

    She tells us that she opted for a completely new process for her 2020 offering: “Instead of doing a year of research, I chose to connect various fragments and situations that had been with me for a long time,” she says. “It is accompanied by a darker version of an old Swedish lullaby that I used to play for my daughter. I think this film unconsciously became a processing of becoming a new parent, presenting our strange world to a newborn child.”

    Something to Remember | NÅGOT ATT MINNAS – trailer from New Europe Film Sales on Vimeo.

    Lindroth von Bahr began the project in February of last year, and it premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. “That was crazy fast for me,” she says. “It was made in my own studio, a basement south of Stockholm. It is wonderfully animated by Anna Mantzaris and Eirik Grønmo Bjørnsen, and we used Dragonframe and a Canon 5D camera to produce it. This film’s production went very nicely, and I had a lot of fun. But I’m taking antidepressants these days so most things in life get easier!”

    The talented director says she’s a huge fan of fellow artists Réka Bucsi and Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef. “I was absolutely blown away by This Magnificent Cake!” she says. “It’s a masterpiece.”

    And what is the main message she would like audiences to get from her sublime new short? She responds, “The devil sees whatever you do!” 

    Zachary Zezima, Friend of a Friend

    Zachary Zezima had a strange nightmare in which a man had been kept in a basement as a punishment for a sex crime and had transformed into a bubbling creature. “That was the initial impetus for making the short,” says the L.A.-based artist. “Then there was an assault within my friend group which caused me to reconsider my own morals and outlook on sex and behavior, both conscious and unconscious. All of this, mixed with my own experiences with abuse and theories on cycles of trauma, congealed into an idea and film I felt had to be made no matter how difficult the process.”

    FRIEND OF A FRIEND – TRAILER from Sacrebleu Productions on Vimeo.

    Zezima began writing the script for Friend of a Friend three years ago, and worked on the project until the summer of 2019 for about two and a half years. “My assistant Angela Stempel and I completed all of the backgrounds and animated linework in Los Angeles, then finished up the coloring, compositing, editing, and sound design in France. We did all of the animation and coloring in TVPaint and then composited in After Effects.”

    He says interacting with the tough subject matter for such an extended period of time was a major challenge for him. “The film is about a sexual assault, sexuality, abuse, deceit, manipulation, vigilantism and other heavy topics, so consistently being and thinking in a space that concerned the darker sides of life took its toll at times,” admits Zezima. “I found I was personally much more irritable during the production of this film than others in the past, and felt there was a real emotional burden being undertaken by everyone on the team in order to create the film. Drawing and coloring some of the more violent scenes took days and days and was sometimes hard to look at. Angela was a big support for me during the process and she carried it along with me throughout, so I am very grateful. I’m not sure I could have done this alone!”

    The filmmaker says the ultimate message of his short is that nothing is black and white. “Everything in life exists in the in-between space, even if you don’t realize it or don’t want to believe it,” Zezima notes. “No one is good and no one is bad. We’ve all done things we are not proud of and have questioned our own behaviors and actions, which for me are directly tied to upbringing and environments. To be more self-aware, and to accept free will over one’s own past, is my goal for myself and for others to take away. We all have things in our lives that if allowed can put us down a destructive path, and it’s up to each of us to reject that and choose to overcome as best we can. There will always be obstacles, but it is important to try to be better whenever we can.”

    Michael Shanks, Rebooted

    A stop-motion animated skeleton has a hard time finding a job in the new Hollywood in Michael Shanks’ charming and timely short, Rebooted. “As a kid, one of the things that drew me to movies was learning about the magic behind the scenes — and this premise was a way for me to pay tribute to the amazing artists behind the stuff I obsessed over as a kid,” explains the director. “The impetus of the idea came when I was watching an old, behind-the-scenes special documentary on The Empire Strikes Back on YouTube. Mark Hamill was hosting and (in a really cheesy way) introduced R2-D2 as one of his co-stars. That really got this idea in my head: What if all the puppets, animatronics and rubber characters were really actors, too?’”

    Shanks tells us that the short took about two years to make, from financing to release. 

     “In order to complete the animation, we had to transform our (tiny) office into a stop-motion animation workshop,” says the Aussie helmer. “We cordoned off half the space with huge black sheets to create a lighting controllable environment, whilst cramming everything else into the other half of the office — which still had to function on other projects. Samuel Lewis, our animator, worked predominantly in Dragonframe, and then I would composite our stop-motion animated lead into the live-action frames using After Effects. We also had a 2D animated character (I believe animated in After Effects) and Maya was used to render our Mid-90s-Liquid-Metal-Man character named Mid-90s-Liquid-Metal-Man.”

    The director points out that other than the obvious difficulties in creating such a technically challenging piece of work, writing the script was a really tough prospect. “I started with a premise and character that I loved, but there were a huge number of iterations of stories as I tried to crack what the plot should be,” adds Shank. “There were versions of the film that took place entirely in a museum, entirely at a funeral. It was a long time into the scripting process when the idea to make it a silent film really opened it up to me, and I wrote that final version of the script in the next day.”

    Shank cites Ray Harryhausen movies — especially the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad — as some of his biggest influences. He says the story is largely about celebrating the old techniques of the masters, but he hopes people don’t buy the notion that because “the past was great, the present isn’t.” He adds, “While our main character Phil (a stop-motion animated skeleton) is struggling to find work due to being an obsolete visual effect, doesn’t mean that the film is commenting that modern visual effects (i.e. CGI) are anything negative — we love CGI! The short is about celebrating all artistry across the medium of filmmaking and I hope it draws attention to the magic of VFX artists whose aim is usually to be invisible.”

    Jasmine Elsen, Carousel

    A woman has her daily routines interrupted by unexpected arrivals in Jasmine Elsen’s powerful new short, Carousel. The young animator says she wanted to explore the theme of dehumanization. “I wanted to find out why and how someone is capable of violence due to hatred against a group of people,” she tells us. “The dehumanizing of people is caused by a strong ‘us versus them’ thinking.” 

    KOLOTOČ – teaser from BFILM on Vimeo.

    Elsen began writing the short in 2017, and then production and post took place between December of 2018 and January of this year. The 2D animation was produced at Animal Tank in Ghent, Belgium, and the stop-motion part was done at Anima studio in Prague, Czech Republic.
    “We conducted the two sides/worlds visually in different techniques,” says the director. “The film is mainly animated in 2D but is sometimes combined with stop-motion of flat objects, such as sewing thread, felt and clay. This mix of techniques represents the fact that everyone has different interpretations of the same event.”

    The directory says the process was sometimes challenging. “It wasn’t easy, for example, when I was animating with Martin Smatana in Prague and, during the evenings, I was checking the animations of the 2D animators in Belgium. But I was really lucky to work together with this amazing team full of talented and funny people.”

    Elsen says there are a lot of animation directors and films that she considers big influences in her career. But doing the writing of Carousel, she narrows down the field to Oh Willy… by Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels, Symphony No. 42 by Réka Bucsi, Wind by Robert Löbel, Happy End by Jan Saska and The Bigger Picture by Daisy Jacobs. As she gets ready to get more feedback from the virtual Annecy Festival, Elsen says she hopes they will enjoy watching her short, even if they don’t feel like they understand everything that is going on. “What would be great is if viewers get some ideas from the film and discuss it with each other afterwards,” she offers.

    Alexandre Siqueira, Purpleboy

    If at first you don’t succeed … you keep rewriting, revising and applying for grants! That’s what happened to Brazilian animator Alexandre Siqueira, who spent the years between 2011 and 2016 developing his short Purpleboy, and three more years to actually produce it. “The first image I had of this project was that of a child pushing the body rooted in the ground and of a person who watered it every day — a metaphor for growth and personal development,” he recalls. “So with this idea, I started to apply for some funds and to look for producers. But things were not easy in the beginning. I’ve got many rejections from producers and funds, because the idea wasn’t very clear or not very interesting to them. I stopped to count the rejections for funds when I hit 15 rejections!”

    Siqueira ended up writing 20 versions of the script. He notes, “In some versions, the child was a girl, then it was a boy. Until I accidentally started to question the gender of the character. I thought, if we don’t see the child’s body, it should be interesting to play with the gender identity subject. So, finally the gender identity subject was set, with a clear, visceral and imaginative idea! I spent three years studying and interviewing numerous transgender people. One of my biggest inspirations was João W. Nery, the author of the book Viagem Solitária (Solitary Voyage), which tells the story the first transsexual to have surgical intervention in Brazil, during the military dictatorship regime of the 1970s.”

    PURPLEBOY TEASER from BANDO À PARTE on Vimeo.

    A co-pro between Bando à Parte (Portugal), Rainbow Productions (France) and Ambiances and Luna Blue Film (Belgium), the short was produced using TVPaint and Adobe Animate, with some specific 3D objects done in Maya. Siqueira says one of his biggest challenges was to keep focused and strong during the production phase. “Perseverance plays a big role in completing a short like Purpleboy,” he admits. “I hope to continue with the same kind of energy for my next projects. That’s why when it comes to advice, I suggest having a lot of perseverance and to push your creativity as much as you can!”

    Siqueira, who is a big fan of animation artists such as Igor Kovalyov, Priit Pärn, Roberto Catani and Koji Yamamura, says what keeps him going is the fact that he really values creativity and non-conventional ideas. “An idea is the most important thing, before the beautiful animation or a gorgeous background,” he says. “So, that’s why I really appreciate it when someone approaches me and asks me about why I wanted to explore a certain idea or show a subject in a certain way.”

  • News Bytes: Whoopi Voices Climate Short, ‘Wish Dragon’ China Trailer, ‘BoJack’ Crash Course & More

    News Bytes: Whoopi Voices Climate Short, ‘Wish Dragon’ China Trailer, ‘BoJack’ Crash Course & More

    WEIRD Reveals 2020 Poster, Opens for Entries
    The 12th edition of WEIRD, the International Animation, Video Games and New Media Market (Segovia, Spain) presents its official poster, created by Mr. Klaus studio, which will guide the entire visual footprint of the 2020 event, formerly known as 3D WIRE (September 28 to October 4). Its director, Jose Luis Farias, highlights the result of the same that manages to “summarize in just one character what WEIRD is, both for the attendants and for us. We will call him Mr. Weird!”

    WEIRD’s call for projects is officially open for animation, video games, transmedia, webseries, board games and comics. Deadline: July 24, 2020.

    The poster concentrates the essence of this event that aims to be a point of dialogue and exchange between creators, producers, communication channels, professionals in the sector and future talents. Along with the colorful main character of the design, various animated cubes appear; emblems of this forum from its origins, in addition to being its iconic trophies.

    Mr. Klaus is a Spanish animation studio that was born in 2015 and is based in Madrid. Its team is specialized in creating quality content for the animation and video game industry across 2D/3D, design, art and animation services for both original concepts and international clients such as Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Anima Kitchent, Canal + Junior, El Ranchito, BRB International, IGG, Supercell.

    LEGO Build Interactive Nintedo ‘Super Mario’ Ranges’
    The new set includes customizable courses and Super Mario Power-Up Packs which provide Super Mario toys with the Fire Suit, Propeller Suit as well as Cat Mario and Builder Mario kits. The accompanying LEGO x Super Mario app keeps track of scores to encourage continuous rebuilding, as well as providing creative ways to build and play with friends. Available now!

    “Super Mario has continued to appear, always in a form adapted to the current hardware of the time,” said Takashi Tezuka, Executive Officer / Game Producer, Nintendo. “I am thankful that in this project with the LEGO Group, Mario is jumping out of the digital world of game consoles and smart devices, and we are able to bring him into the world with a new, physical type of Mario play. It’s very exciting to think of LEGO Mario becoming a real friend to children and to picture them playing in their very own Mario world that they imagined themselves.”

    60+ Must-Watch Animated YouTube Channels in Every Category
    Somehow finding yourself stuck for new toon content to break you out of your quarantine stupor? BreadNBeyond has compiled a list of suggestions for all tastes and target audiences.

    ‘BoJack Horseman’ Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s Crash Course on Animation Writing + Acting
    In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast features intimate, in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy film, television, and theater actors and creators. Full of both know-how and inspiration, “In the Envelope” airs weekly to cover everything from practical advice on navigating the industry, to how your favorite projects are made, to personal stories of success and failure alike.

    This week, the man behind the Horseman joins host Jack Smart (Awards Editor, Backstage) to discuss the hilarious, challenging adult animated series and how it all started with a simple question: “How do I write good?”

    Whoopi Goldberg Teams with Extinction Rebellion on Animated Short
    Produced for the activist group’s social feeds for World Environment Day (June 5), The Gigantic Change is an optimistic glimpse into the future, looking back from the year 2050 to show how humanity came together to save Earth from the climate crisis. The animation is produced by London-based Passion Pictures.

    ‘Wish Dragon’ Trailer Bows in China
    Cartoon Brew spotted this week the subtle debut of a trailer for Sony Picture Animation/Tencent CG feature co-pro Wish Dragon — starring and produced by Jackie Chan. Based on an original story by children’s book illustrator Chris Applehans (who is directing the pic), the movie is a “genie-in-a-bottle retelling set in contemporary China” that “picks up the moral challenges that emerge from the encounter between a boy and a dragon who is able to make wishes come true.”

    Wish Dragon voice stars Chan, Constance Wu, John Cho, Will Yun Lee, Jimmy Wong and Bobby Lee for both the English-language and Chinese versions. Base FX, Beijing Sparkle Roll Media, Flagship Entertainment Group and Boss Collaboration are also production partners. At last word, Sony is expecting to release the film this year in the U.S. and China, though a premiere date has not been set. 

    Wish Dragon
    Wish Dragon
    Weird Market
    Weird Market
  • Animayo Wraps Virtual Edition with 35K Attendees; ‘Kapaemahu’ Wins Grand Prize

    Animayo Wraps Virtual Edition with 35K Attendees; ‘Kapaemahu’ Wins Grand Prize

    Converted into the First Festival of Animation, Visual Effects and Video Games in the world made on a 100% virtual platform, this 15th edition of Animayo Gran Canaria has exceeded all expectations, marking a milestone in the history of these festivals with more than 35,000 participants and 22,000 new registrations from countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Denmark, Russia, the Czech Republic, India, Canada, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Peru, in addition to Spain.

    Among the more than 1,600 works submitted to Animayo, of which 67 were selected for the film competition, Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson under the animation direction of Daniel Sousa (U.S., 2020), came out on top with the Grand Jury Award for 2020. Kapaemahu thus obtains a direct pass for the Oscar Preselection in the Best Animation Short Film category, as Animayo is currently the only Academy Awards Qualifying Festival in Spain, designated now for three years. In addition, the winner receives a cash prize of €3,000 (~$3,400 USD) and an honorary trophy.

    Kapaemahu, which means “stones of life” in native Hawai’ian, brings to life a powerful Hawai’ian legend in which four extraordinary Māhū, or two-spirit individuals — the third gender, both male and female — brought the healing arts of Tahiti to Hawai’i and imbued four giant rocks with their powers; rocks still venerated today. The piece is a vivid animation seen through the eyes of a child and narrated in the ancient Hawai’ian dialect.

    Kapaemahu
    Kapaemahu

    The International Jury was chaired by Claus Toksvig Kjaer, a Danish animation producer on outstanding projects such as Oscar nominee Song of the Sea or Long Way North, winner of the Audience Award at Annecy. His upcoming projects include feature films Calamity – The Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary and The Ape Star, co-produced in collaboration with Maybe Movies and Lee Film. The International Jury also included Cecilia Aranovich, Lizzie Nichols, Carolina Jiménez and Marcos González P.

    The Spanish Jury gave the award for Best Animated Short Film in Spanish – Animation with Ñ to El pájarocubo, from Marcos Mas and Jorge Alberto Vega Rivera (Colombia, 2019). This jury comprised Rafa Zabala, Christian Dan Bejarano, Marcos González P., Cecilia Aranovich and Lizzie Nichols. Finally, the jury for the Official Section of Cinematic, Music Videos and Commissioned was formed by Edu Martín, Arturo Monedero, Rafa Zabala, Marcos González P. and Carolina Jiménez.

    El pájarocubo
    El pájarocubo

    As a whole, the Winners List 2020 represents a selection of films in which not only the visual artistic quality stands out, but also the tremendous sound quality. So, for the first time in Animayo, the Jury decided to award a Special Mention for Best Sound Design to Konstantin Bronzit and his short film He can’t live without cosmos. Lupus Films’ acclaimed special The Tiger Who Came to Tea (director: Robin Shaw) won the prize for best 2D film as well as the award for best music (composed by David Arnold and featuring a song performed by Robbie Williams). Likewise, this year’s Social Awareness Award winner made an impact handling the hot topic of the situation of immigrants in the United States: The Office of Missing Children by Michael Schiller (U.S., 2018).

    The full list of winners is available here.

    The Office of Missing Children Social Awareness
    The Office of Missing Children Social Awareness

    Defying the limitations caused by the world COVID-19 pandemic, Animayo responded to the crisis with the launch of its most cutting-edge edition on a 100% virtual platform, a globally unprecedented model — with customizable avatars, advanced 3D technology, 100% virtual spaces without the need for VR headsets, real-time voice tools, agility to connect to the system, interaction capabilities and intercommunication between avatars. Seven years ago, Damián Perea, founding director of the International Summit Animayo, had the vision to include an entirely virtual component in the festival, only this technology did not yet exist. But last year, he met Don Stein, founder and CEO of Teooh, a new avatar-based virtual events platform that enables users to “sit” and interact in the same digital space. COVID-19 shutdowns turned out to be the “ideal framework” to reorganize this edition and make it happen.

    Damián Perea, Director of Animayo, and his Teooh platform avatar.
    Damián Perea, Director of Animayo, and his Teooh platform avatar.

    For this special edition, the organization froze the sale of tickets (the full pass for the festival was priced at €150) and, in a new step of social awareness taken along with the main sponsors and collaborators, the funds available for the Animayo Talent Scholarship were boosted to more than €500,000 to assist students of Computer Graphics, Multiplatform Applications, VR & Simulation, Software Engineering, Programming, Game Design, VFX, Realization, Production in Audiovisual Environments and Animation, among many other degrees, master’s and postgraduate degrees, as well as Higher Degree Training Cycle, doctorates and courses. All of them in universities and schools, national and international, of the highest level in both online and face-to-face modalities, such as U-tad, ESDIP, ESCAV, L’Idem, Universidad Europea, Cesur or ArtHeroes. Applications are open until June 30, upon free registration on the Animayo.com website; for those aged 16 and up.

    Apply for the Animayo Talent Scholarship here.

    In addition, Animayo 2020 increased its number of speakers by 70% compared to the previous edition. A total of 57 experts from 14 countries, many of them with honors form the Oscar Awards, Annie, Emmy, Lovie Awards, Art Directors Guild of America, VES, ZBrush Live Sculpt-Off, International Media Award, Google best and International Travel & Tourism Award. Renowned international professionals of the industry who have worked in studios such as DreamWorks Animation, Cartoon Saloon, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation, Ilion Animation Studios, Skydance, Weta Digital or Delirium Studios. Artists who left their mark on recognized works with nominations for the Oscars, Goya Awards, VES or the Webby Awards, among others, such as Klaus, The Hobbit (trilogy), Iron Man, Avengers, The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Alike, Hero, Planet 51, Shrek Forever After, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, The Lord of the Rings (trilogy), Beauty and the Beast, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Underdogs, Mortadelo and Filemón: Mission Implausible, Wonder Park, The Wind Rises, The Illusionist, Wolf Children, Game of Thrones; Love, Death + Robots; Jurassic World and Justice League, as well as video games like Vigor, Argo, DayZ, the Samorost saga, Machinarium, Castlevania Lords of Shadow II, or projects entirely developed in VR like the short film The Remedy.

    Animayo Virtual 2020. Debate Jovenes Talentos
    Animayo Virtual 2020. Debate Jovenes Talentos

    All shared their knowledge and experiences on the first weekend of the Festival, on May 8 and 9, in eight panel discussions and two debates, each of them moderated by 5 experts, in which we entered into disciplines such as character creation and design; the latest research in virtual reality techniques, video games and animation; work of animators and producers; 3D modelling, digital sculpture; storyboard; production designers, visual development artists, layout and concept artists, and visual effects techniques. Speakers included:

    • Esther Morales. Ireland. Senior Lead Character Designer. Cartoon Saloon, Lighthouse Studios, Ánima.
    • Juan Pablo López. Spain. Senior Character Artist and Concept Artist. Pyro Studios, SPA Studios, Skydance.
    • Tommy Tejeda. U.S. Character Designer. The Walt Disney Company, Fox (The Simpsons), Marvel Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network.
    • Miriam Hidalgo, “Perditah”. Spain. Illustrator and Character Designer. Ominiky Ediciones, Estudio Mariscal, Filmax animation.
    • Núria Aparicio, “La Pendeja”. Spain. Illustrator, Animator. Nikodemo, Neptuno Films, Editorial Salvat, Grupo Hachette Livre.
    • Edgar Martín-Blas. Spain. CEO & Creative director. Virtual Voyagers, Tuenti, Telefónica, Teaser, Xocolat Design.
    • Laura Raya. Director of Graduate Programmes and Virtual Reality Projects. U- tad. She has collaborated with companies such as ACCIONA, NEXT LIMIT, GMV, Ra-Ma and Indra, Switzerland, Spain.
    • Daniel Peixe. U.S., Spain. Walt Disney Animation Studios, Ilion Animation Studios, Keytoon Animation Studio, BFC.
    • Diego Bezares. Founder & Developer. Zinkia Entertainment, BKOOL, G4M3 studios and Mind The Pixel.
    • Guillermo Castilla. U.K., Spain. Coordinator of the degree in Video Game Design, lecturer in Animation and researcher, European University.
    • Raúl García. U,S., Spain. Animator, Director and Producer. Kandor Moon, Kandor Graphics, The Walt Disney Animation Studios.
    • Laia Farré. U.K., Spain. Lead animator. Skydance, Framestore, Mikros Image, Blue Dream Studios.
    • Christian Dan Bejarano. France, Spain. Animation supervisor. Skydance, The SPA Studios, The Frank Barton Company.
    • Marcos González P. U.S., Spain. Animator. DreamWorks Animation, Encore, Duncan Studio, Buck, Psyop, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Lightbox Entertainment.
    • Daniel Martínez Lara. Spain. Winner of the Goya for Best Animated Short in 2016. Development advisor for Blender Grease Pencil software.
    • Ángel Molina, Spain. Project Manager, Art Director. Blue Pixel 3D, Zinkia Entertainment, Magic Films.
    • Juan Solís. U.S., U.K., Spain. Character Supervisor. Skydance, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Blur Studio, The Frank Barton Company.
    • Luis Labrador. U.S., Spain. Modeling Supervisor. Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks.
    • Marlon Núñez. U.K., Spain. Digital Sculptor, Character Artist. BLUR, Realtime UK, Hasbro, Art Heroes.
    • Manuel González. Graduate in Journalism. Director of the Spanish TV programme, Zoom Net.
    • Arturo Monedero. Spain. Deputy Chairman of the Spanish Video Game Association. Video Game Designer. Delirium Studios.
    • Anna Guxens. Co-founder, Design & Development. 3bytes.
    • Tatiana Delgado. Spain. Illustrator. Co-founder of Out of the Blue Games.
    • Daniel Calabuig. Spain. Author and CCO at Unmemory.
    • Mercedes Rey. Spain. Director of Institutional Relations and Strategic Partnerships. U- tad, Pyro Studios, Proein.
    • Paula Benedicto. U.S., Spain. Senior Animator. Skydance, The Walt Disney Studios.
    • Andrés Bedate. Canada, Spain. Character Animator. Sony Pictures Imageworks, Cinesite, Animum.
    • Gisela Prunés. U.S., Spain. HR Specialist. The Walt Disney Studios, Marvel Studios.
    • Laura Bethencourt. U.K., Spain. VFX Line Producer. Framestore, Double Negative.
    • Cinzia Angelini.Cinzia Agenilini. Italy, U.S. Director, Story Artist, Animator. DreamWorks Animation, Illumination Entertainment, Cinesite.
    • Paulo Alvarado. Finland. Head of Story. Rovio Entertainment, Walt Disney Animation Studios.
    • Cecilia Aranovich. U.S., Spain. Supervising Director, Storyboard Artist, Director. Warner Bros. Animation.
    • Sergio Páez. U.S. Director, Story Artist, Writer.
    • Álex Relloso. Spain. Storyboard Artist. Skydance.
    • Carlos Zaragoza. U.S., Spain. Production designer. Sony Pictures Animation, Paramount Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Rocket Pictures, Universal Pictures.
    • Aurora Jiménez. U.S., Spain. Visual Development Artist. DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, EA, Universal Pictures.
    • Lizzie Nichols. U.S. Visual Development Artist. Sony Pictures Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Imagineering, RGH Entertainment. Her clients include Disney Television and Cartoon Network.
    • Aya Suzuki. Japan, U.K. Animation Artist, Layout and Concept Artist. Studio Ghibli, Walt Disney Animation, Passion Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Netflix.
    • Antonio Arés. Senior Concept Artist. Skydance, Auriga Films, Grupo Zeta, U-tad.
    • Carolina Jiménez. Canada, Spain. Lead Layout Artist. Scanline VFX, Weta Digital, MPC, OK Infografía, Skydance.
    • Eli Jarra. U.S. VFX supervisor. Think VR, Westwind Media, Entity FX, Pixel Playground.
    • Adrián Pueyo. Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Spain. VFX Compositor. Trixter, Weta Digital, Scanline VFX, MPC, ILM, DNeg.
    • Pablo Giménez.  U.K., Spain. Lead FX TD.Double Negative, MPC, The Mill.
    • Roger Kupelian. U.S. Matte Painter, Concept Artist. Digital Domain, MPC, Sony Imageworks, Pixomondo, Weta Digital.
    • Rocío Ayuso. Journalist, Writer and Film Producer. El País, R & R Communications.
    • Lorena Ares. Spain. Animation Director and Screenwriter. Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat, Moonbite Studios.
    • Argentina Oliva. Spain. Production Supervisor. Mondo TV.
    • Marina Soto. U.S., Spain. Associate Recruiter. DreamWorks Animation.

    On May 15 and 16, 15 master classes were given via streaming by international experts in animation, VFX and video games, reaching 21,923 total registrations. Among the topics were 2D animation for cinema, video games and television; 3D modelling; Blender software innovations such as Grease Pencil; secrets of the digital creations of some of the great Hollywood blockbusters; the construction of worlds in video games; tips for creating a good portfolio and successfully facing a job interview; acting in animation; the art of lighting; the secrets of the concept artist; the making of The Remedy, entirely made in VR with Quill from Facebook’s Oculus platform; how to set up and move a demo reel to get a VFX job internationally, etc.

    Animayo Virtual 2020
    Animayo Virtual 2020

    Master class speakers included: Rafa Zabala, Daniel Martínez Lara, Eli Jarra, Roger Kupelian, Edu Martín, Aya Suzuki, Daniel Peixe, Carolina Jiménez and Iván Carmona; Rémy Terreaux (France), Lead Animator, . Dreamworks, Illumination Mac Guff, Kandor Graphics, Skydance, Fortiche Productions; Ivan Buchta (Czech Rep.), Creative Director; Lukáš Kunce (Czech Rep.), PR & production, Amanita Design; Tomasz “Floex” Dvorak (Czech Rep.), Music Composer, Musician, Producer, DJ and Multimedia Artist; and David Benzal (Spain), Concept Artist, Sony PlayStation, Fuji Television, HBO, Ubisoft, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Grupo Planeta, Universal Pictures.

    The following week, Animayo celebrated the First Online Reverse Trade Mission between Canada and the Canary Islands, organized in collaboration with Proexca. Held May 27-28, 25 producers, independent directors and studios from the animation, VFX and video games sectors were presented and put in contact — 11 from Canada and 14 from the Canary Islands, of which six were from Gran Canaria, seven from Tenerife and one from Fuerteventura. These meetings had the objective of establishing synergies between producers, independent filmmakers and studios, aiming for possible future collaborations, a better understanding of the reality of the Canarian industry as an international platform for the development of animation productions, VFX and video games, showing Canadian companies the quality of the content of Canarian productions through their most recent projects.

    Likewise, some novelties of the regional market were presented, how is it working with the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 and future prospects, promoting the advantages that the Canary Islands have for audiovisual production and the animation industry. The conference concluded with virtual networking using avatars over the Animayo/Teooh platform. More information here.

    The 15th edition of Animayo will return this fall to celebrate its face-to-face phase, in which it will decide the Audience Award and the official section of the My First Festival contest; present the screenings of the Animayo 2020 Awards for all audiences, a video game space and virtual reality space, premiere short films made by children for children (Animayo Educational System), U-future experiences and school screenings for primary and secondary students.

  • Genius Brands Taps TV Vets Margaret Loesch, David Neuman to Lead Kartoon Channel

    Genius Brands International has appointed Margaret Loesch as Executive Chairman of Kartoon Channel!, which will be available in over 100 million U.S. television households and 200 million mobile devices, launching June 15. David Neuman, former President of Walt Disney Television, has been named Chief Creative Officer of Kartoon Channel!, and will work closely with Loesch and General Manager Caroline Tyre.

    “I have known and admired Margaret and David for many years. There are no two more accomplished executives in our industry than Margaret Loesch and David Neuman. One doesn’t become the President of multiple children’s networks, or the President of Walt Disney Television, respectfully, without a reputation of being ‘Best in Class’. Their collective knowledge and relationships with the advertiser community, the creative community, and the distribution community in kid’s broadcasting is at the pinnacle of the field. They play to win, and nothing less,” said Andy Heyward, CEO of Genius Brands.

    “Having Margaret and David leading Kartoon Channel!, along with General Manager Caroline Tyre and Director of Content and Acquisitions Mark Shoeman, is going to be a tremendous jump start to creating viewership and market share, advertiser demand, and attracting the most powerful creative content and marketing in the field.”

    Margaret Loesch was the founding president and CEO of Fox Kids Networks Worldwide, growing the channels across all metrics, where it was eventually sold to the Walt Disney Company for $5.5 billion. During this time, she launched a multitude of hit series, including Power Rangers, growing Fox Kids into the top children’s program service on television.

    Prior to Fox Kids, Loesch served as President & CEO of Marvel Productions, and previously, President of The Jim Henson Company, and Founding President & CEO of the U.S. Hallmark Channel and Crown Media U.S. Most recently, she served as President of the HUB which was a joint venture between Hasbro Toys and Discovery Communications. Her resume includes launching some of the most successful animated children’s properties in the world, including Batman, Spider-Man, Steven Spielberg’s Animaniacs, Transformers, My Little Pony, X-Men, Muppet Babies and Fraggle Rock.

    As President of Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television, David Neuman oversaw The Wonderful World of Disney, Boy Meets World, Ellen and the then #1 sitcom on television, Home Improvement. Prior to that, as VP of Comedy at NBC, he oversaw iconic series such as Cheers, Family Ties, Golden Girls and ALF. Under his management, NBC series received over 100 Emmy Awards.

    “I have admired David’s accomplishments and reputation as an innovator and magnet for talent for years and have had the good fortune to work extensively with Andy over the years,” said Loesch. “This is a wonderful opportunity to work with both David and Andy, and the Genius Brands’ team where I will oversee and provide advice on the creation of a new destination for kids and their families.”

    Neuman commented, “The creative community is poised for new content and new ways of delivering it to today’s kids who have grown up in an on-demand non-linear world, and I look forward to hitting the ground running as we gear up for a massive June 15 launch.”

    Kartoon Channel! is a digital channel for kids 2-11 to access over 4,000 episodes of premium entertaining, enriching and educational content anytime, anywhere in a safe environment. The channel features content from Genius Brands’ programming catalog and from creators around the world, including Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab, Baby Genius, Martha Stewart & Friends, Stan Lee’s Mighty 7, Gisele Bündchen’s Gisele & The Green Team, Gummi Bears, Shark Academy, DaJammies, Amber the Ambulance, Dino the Dinosaur, Ethan the Dump Truck, IncrediTales, OneZeez, Super Geek Heroes and many more.

    “There is a huge appetite for quality children’s content that is family-friendly and safe,” Heyward added. “No less important, is having it available for free and with no subscription fees will be compelling now to more and more parents who are looking to provide quality children’s entertainment options for their kids. It will be equally important to advertisers, who are increasingly finding fewer channels to reach viewers, in a universe dominated by pay services such as Netflix and Disney+. Kartoon Channel! will be like a ‘Netflix for kids,’ except it is free.”

    Genius Brands’ current platforms include DISH, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, Comcast’s Xfinity on Demand, Roku, Apple TV and Apple iOS, Android, Cox, Tubi, and Xumo, with all transitioning into carrying Kartoon Channel. New platforms launching Kartoon Channel content include SelectTV, RedBox, Plex and Canela Media.

  • Pokémon Kids TV YT Debuts Retro Animation-Inspired ‘PokéToon’

    Pokémon Kids TV YT Debuts Retro Animation-Inspired ‘PokéToon’

    The official Japan-based Pokémon Kids TV YouTube Channel took the franchises’s popular characters in a new (or, rather, a bit old!) direction with the Thursday launch of the first “PokéToon: The Pokémon Cartoon Animation” — a dialog-free, classic cartoon-inspired 2D short complete with rubbery trains, off-the-wall physicality and raucous slapstick action.

    The first installment, Chase the Beans, stars the Gen V pocket monster Scraggy (“Zuruggu” in Japanese) and Gen VII trickster Mimikyu. The duo are caught in a classic cat-and-mouse setup (or in this case, lizard and ghost) when Scraggy inadvertently boards a train while chowing down on a trail of delicious beans, and soon becomes the victim of Mimikyu’s painful pranks.

    The short is directed by Taku Inoue with lovely retro-appropriate music by Kei Tsuda. Production partners were Dandelion, Step Corporation, Magic Bus and Studio Tulip.

    The latest Pokémon animated series, Pokémon Journeys, will make its U.S. streaming premiere on Netflix on June 12. Netflix also added the franchise’s 22nd movie to its lineup earlier this year, with global launch of Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution (featuring an all-new CGI look) in February. Fans can keep up with new digital-first Gala Region adventures in the beautifully animated limited series Twilight Wings, available on the NorAm Pokémon YouTube Channel (episode 5 just launched).

    [H/T IGN]

  • Meet Mondo TV’s Colorful New Eco Warriors

    Meet Mondo TV’s Colorful New Eco Warriors

    This month, Mondo TV’s latest animated series MeteoHeroes will officially make its debut on Italian preschool channel, Cartoonito. The 52 x 7-minute 2D animated show is a co-pro with Meteo Expert Center, Italy’s leading weather forecasting group, and addresses timely issues such as climate change, ecology and respect for nature. To find out more, we caught up with the show’s creator and exec producer Luigi Latini, who is also the CEO of Meteo Experts Center, and Paolo Zecca, Mondo TV’s Chief Production Exec:

    Can you tell us a little about how the show came about?

    Luigi Latini: The original idea came from a discussion I had with my wife. However, it was further developed after we got together with Luigi Ballerini. Luigi is a Milan-based child psychotherapist and journalist. He has also written award-winning books for children and adults. His input was invaluable when it came to building a narrative line for the series and developing the characters of the six animated young stars of MeteoHeroes. In particular, he helped us to define well-rounded profiles of the characters that young audiences could identify with.

    Luigi Latini
    Luigi Latini

    Obviously, your show arrives at a time when there needs to be more attention paid to climate change and saving our planet from ecological disaster. Can you discuss how you managed to weave those topics into the storylines?

    Latini: There is a lot to say about the effects of pollution and global warming on the world, but we didn’t want to present the information in a dull or preachy way. So we explored ways to inform children that would also be fun and interesting. It certainly helps that Meteo Expert Center has always been involved in school projects, aiming to raise awareness among younger generations about protecting the environment. Our meteorologists visit about 100 institutes a year, from elementary schools to high schools. As you’d expect, these initiatives are aimed at making this complex science — and what we can do for the future of our planet — understandable to future generations. So we already have a strong background in working with kids, although transforming our message into engaging animated storytelling definitely required input from experts in that field, which is why we’re delighted to be working with Mondo TV.

    Now that you’re ready to present the show to kids around the world, what do you love about the final results?

    Latini: I really like the series as a whole, but I also love the way each episode tells a story. There is always an important message in every show, but there is also action, fun and adventure — genuine, high-quality entertainment. There are not many cartoons that have a genuine appeal to kids but also offer a message that is educational and informative on a topic that affects our children’s future. We’re very proud of the fact that MeteoHeroes has managed this.

    Can you talk about the visual style and influences of the show?

    Latini: The visual style of each character has been carefully developed to give them a clear identity and personality — something that appeals to fans, but is also relevant to the development of a long-term licensing program. While the project is developed and produced by Mondo TV and has a strong Italian influence, I do need to credit the influence on the show of two Asian women: My Thai wife, Supasin Jitman, has been involved in the project since the beginning. She insisted on giving the characters specific gadgets. I also need to mention Mitsue Haya, an excellent Japanese designer who contributed to the design of the three female characters.

    MeteoHeroes
    MeteoHeroes

    And of course there’s Mondo TV. We needed to find a co-producer that shared our vision of the series and was able to understand how to convey a serious and important message mixed with action, fun and adventure — a co-producer that could manage to get the perfect balance. Mondo TV is the ideal partner.

    What do you hope audiences will get out of the show?
    Latini:     I really hope they can have a lot of fun and learn at the same time! My dream is that, at the end of each episode, children will have a big smile on their faces but also know a little bit more about recycling, saving energy and reducing pollution. In the longer term, I hope that MeteoHeroes has a lasting effect — encouraging children to grow up as more aware and respectful stewards of both nature and their environment.

    When did Mondo TV become involved in developing and producing the series?
    Paolo Zecca:     We met with Meteo Expert Center in 2018 and fell in love with the work they had already done on MeteoHeroes. We started developing the show from their original materials in the second half of 2018. Production started in 2019. It was a unique process: We were taking an idea that had been born from the imaginations of meteorological experts and helping it to grow and develop as an entertaining and informative animated show. And we will keep on developing it!

    Paola Zecca
    Paola Zecca

    Where is the animation produced and which tools do you use to produce it?
    Zecca: The main production work is done in China. This is a 2D animated production , which uses a combination of different software.

    How many people work on the show?
    Zecca:     In purely production terms, I’d say we have around 70 people working on MeteoHeroes at the moment.

    From your perspective, what makes MeteoHeroes stand out in today’s TV landscape?

    Zecca: The show was inspired by years of human behavior that have adversely affected our planet, and the learning process we are all going through to alter that behavior. Every story is based on true events — things that have really happened – and ways in which we can make things better.

    What is your take on the state of animation in 2020?
    Zecca:     Right now, no one can make a clear prediction about what will happen to this sector in 2020. On the one hand, demand for content will probably increase. At the same time, the global health emergency will affect production of new shows. It’s hard to say how many shows will be affected and for how long this will continue. But there are a lot of good ideas out there, and the year started with positive expectations. Our aim is to stay positive and be ready to respond to demand as soon as local and global circumstances allow.

    For more info, visit mondotv.it/scheda-singola-meteo-heroes-new.html

    MeteoHeroes
    MeteoHeroes
  • Industry Leaders Join Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition

    Industry Leaders Join Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition

    The Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition hosted by Roskino, the Russian film promotion body, with the support of Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation and Moscow government, announces additional leading industry executives from around the world who will bring their wealth of expertise from across the spectrum of the film industry to Russia’s First Virtual Content Market, which goes live on Monday, June 8 and runs until June 15.

    Jay Roewe, SVP of Production for HBO; Erik Barmack, founder of Wild Sheep; Marc Lorber, Senior Vice President, International Co-productions and Acquisitions at Lionsgate; and Andy Whittaker, Chairman and founder of Dogwoof, join the line-up of industry leaders who will bring their perspectives to the virtual market.

    Evgenia Markova, CEO of Roskino will host an in conversation with Barmack, founder of the new and fast-growing Los Angeles-based content production Wild Sheep. The former Vice President of International Originals at Netflix will discuss the golden era of non-English-language productions around the globe, Wild Sheep’s exciting slate of content and opportunities he sees in working with regional markets, Russia in particular.

    Lionsgate’s Lorber and David Ellender, CEO of Sonar Entertainment, will come together to discuss trends in international production, the market for non-English language films in the U.S.A., co-producing and distributing distinctive and high-quality content that people want to watch — and finding a range of homes for it.

    Roewe (HBO); Jess Conoplia, President of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI); Pavlína Žipková, Head of Czech Film Commission; Einar Hansen Tómasson, Film Commissioner at Iceland Film Commission; and Alexander Kessel, founder and producer at Sputnik Vostok production will exchange ideas on resuming global production and navigating the new landscape. The session will be moderated by Svetlana Maximchenko, CEO Moskino, Moscow Film Commission.

    The Chinese film industry will be represented by Zhang Fan, Project Manager, Bridging the Dragon; Alexander He, Assistant Shooting Manager, Hengdian World Studios; and Du Liang, CEO of Airmita Cultural Development Co., Ltd. Hosted by Olga Kashirina, Sinologist, Head of International Development at Vodorod Pictures, the speakers will discuss and share experience on raising the curtain once again on the industry, the impact and potential opportunities the new normal may present.

    International buyers from the U.S,, Latin America and Spain will share their experience of releasing Russian content into their markets and share insights into the success of best-performing projects. Angel Lopez Armendariz, Head of Foreign Production Contents at Mediaset Spain; Juliana Da Cunha Jacobsen, Partner and Head of Acquisitions & Operations at BF Distribution; and Jordan Fields, VP Acquisitions at Shout! Factory will join the discussion moderated by Katerina Pshenitsyna, VP International Distribution at Central Partnership.

    Thatcher Mines, Director of Development and Deals at Power Animals United (Finland), will moderate a panel discussion dedicated to the global success of Russian animation. The speakers include Pierre Sissmann, CEO, Cyber Group Studios (France); Richard Rowe, Director of International Acquisitions & Co-Productions, Wildbrain (U.K.); Yan Li, CEO, Beijing Joy Culture Media Co. (China); Lionel Marty, Managing Director, APC Kids (France); and Ariel Tobi, CEO, SNAP TV LatAm (Argentina).

    Deadline will host a discussion with four of the major Russian filmmakers and executives to find out how the country’s local industry is expanding and becoming more international in its focus. The speakers include Fedor Bondarchuk, Founder of Art Pictures Studio; producer and film director Ilya Stewart, founder and producer at Hype Film; director, screenwriter and producer Timur Bekmambetov; and Vadim Vereshchagin, producer and CEO of Central Partnership.

    The rise of the innovative filmmaking technique screenlife will be explored in a panel discussion that includes producer Evgeny Nikishov, head of PREMIER Studios (#SidYadoma project – first Russian screenlife series about life during the lockdown); Yegor Baranov, Russian film director (Gogol trilogy, screenlife thriller Resurrected); Alexander Fomin, International Sales, Marketing Director, Pulsar Content (Aznavour by Charles, The Deep House, A Perfect Enemy); Maria Zatulovskaya, Head of Development Unit, Bazelevs Production; and Sophia Kvashilava, General Producer at OKKO Entertainment (All Together show — the first screenlife project produced by Okko).

    Leading independent producers from Russia and Europe will explore potential opportunities for a future of independent co-production in a panel discussion moderated by Erwin M. Schmidt, Managing Director, German Film Producers Association. He will be joined by Didar Domehri, producer and founder of Maneki Films and Full House; Riina Sildos, founder of Amrion; Titus Kreyenberg, founder of Unafilm; Natalia Drozd, producer at CTB Film Company; and Artem Vassiliev, producer at Metrafilms.

    Another discussion will focus on Russian TV drama: Vlad Ryashin, CEO and founder of Star Media; Anton Fedotov, film director, screenwriter and general producer at CTC Channel; and Daria Bondarenko, EVP, Sales and Co-Production at Yellow, Black and White will talk about creating national series for worldwide audiences.

    Immersive storytelling and the future of virtual reality will be an insightful discussion between Georgy Molodtsov, director and producer (Under the Pillow XR), curator of the Open Frame VR Award (goEast Film Festival, Germany; VR SciFest, Sweden; Russian VR Seasons Initiative); Alina Mikhaleva, producer, founder of Less Media Group, VR expert and co-founder of VR Studio Spherica; Anton Outkine, director and scriptwriter (Kessler Effect, Trench VR); and Ilya Rozhkov, director and co-producer of VR action film Agent Emerson. Together they will explore industry insights and creative opportunities for scriptwriters and storytellers.

    The global documentary landscape, the wide spectrum of distribution and growing audiences for independent content will be explored by Annie Roney, Founder and CEO, ro*co films (U.S.); Andy Whittaker, Founder and Chair of Dogwoof (U.K.); Sofia Kapkova, Founder and CEO, Documentary Film Center; Ove Rishøj Jensen, documentary consultant, producer (Denmark); and moderated by director, producer Georgy Molodtsov, programmer of MIFF documentary sections, chairman of the Board of Russian Documentary Guild.

    Leading executives of major Russian VOD platforms will share their views on the changing streaming market and customers` behavior during the pandemic. Roman Petrenko, Managing Director of GPM ETV (Premier); Yulia Mindubayeva, CEO at START; Denis Gorshkov, CEO at more.tv; and Yana Bardintseva, CEO at OKKO multimedia service will also talk about foreign financing and market evolution in Russia together with Yevgeny Pokalyukhin, investment and business development specialist, Director IBD at Renaissance Capital.

    Post-production services in Russia are successfully being utilized by international filmmakers. Stefen Fangmeier, VFX supervisor and director (U.S.); Johnny O’Reilly, producer and director (Ireland); John Dietz, Founder of BangBang, Visual Effects Supervisor (U.S., China); and Ronnie Lahiri, producer, Rising Sun Films Pvt. Ltd (India) will join Nick Holdsworth to share their experiences.

    A separate session will be dedicated to state structures and their support of creative industries export. The exclusive panel, moderated by Russian journalist, film and TV critic Susanna Alperina, includes Maxim Ksenzov, Deputy Minister of Culture of Russian Federation; Alexey Fursin, Head of the Moscow Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovations; Evgenia Markova, CEO of Roskino; Nikita Gusakov, Senior VP of Russian Export Center, CEO of EXIAR; and Svetlana Maximchenko, CEO of Moskino, Moscow Film Commission.

    The platform hosting the event is developed and supported by the SPB TV company.

    http://keybuyersevent.com

  • Dallas-Based Heritage Auctions Relocates to New 160K sq. ft. HQ

    Dallas-Based Heritage Auctions Relocates to New 160K sq. ft. HQ

    Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com)has moved its global headquarters into a new state-of-the-art, 160,000-square foot facility and multi-purpose campus, befitting its status as the largest auction house founded in America. Heritage is currently ramping up for a massive Animation Art Auction (June 19-21), including one of the largest collections of artwork from Disney’s Peter Pan ever brought to market, including masterpieces by David Hall and Mary Blair, and the largest offering items hand-signed by Walt Disney.

    As of June 1, Heritage Auctions’ global headquarters is now located at 2801 W. Airport Freeway, Dallas, Texas, which is adjacent to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and in its foreign trade zone. Transwestern Principal Nora Hogan facilitated the move, with additional support from Principal Robert Deptula and Vice President Jordan Wade. Mark Hayes with HPI Real Estate Services and Investments represented the landlord, Bandera Ventures.

    The new headquarters, less than 30 minutes from both downtown Dallas and Fort Worth, is twice the size of Heritage’s longtime home at 3500 Maple Avenue, and now consolidates its three separate Dallas locations under a single roof. The single-story complex spans the length of nearly three football fields.

    Nearly 450 of Heritage’s more than 600 employees occupy its new headquarters.

    In the works for more than a year, this consolidation is the most significant expansion in the firm’s history, and comes at just the right moment.

    Heritage is already renowned as the world’s largest collectibles auction house a global leader in coins, comic books, sports, animation and entertainment memorabilia, among 40 categories. In recent years, however, the company has made dramatic and significant expansions into the realms of fine art, fine and rare jewelry and timepieces, luxury handbags, rare wines and historic nature and science artifacts. The move to the expansive new facility will increase operational efficiencies and allow Heritage to better serve its more than 1 million clients, both buyers and consigners from across the globe.

    The new headquarters features an 8,000 square foot gallery showroom for invitational art exhibitions and events, such as collectibles shows.

    “We are excited to now be in the middle of Dallas-Fort Worth near one of the world’s largest airports,” said CEO and Co-Founder Steve Ivy. “This location and facility will better serve all of our clients, including bidders and consignors who visit our showrooms or consign with us.”

    “After reviewing all available options, Heritage Auctions decided to start with a clean slate under one location that still allows for superior worldwide customer service to clients,” said Hogan. “Located at the intersection of two major highways, this space allows Heritage to easily serve out-of-town clients as well as DFW residents who need appraisals. This location also allows them to serve the metroplex while keeping a Dallas address, which is where the company started and is considered an integral part of the Heritage legacy.”

    For animation fans, Heritage’s curators have offered up their favorite items form the upcoming Animation Art Auction.

    Jim Lentz – Director, Animation Art:

    Steve Wetzel – Cataloger, Animation Art

    David Tosh – Animation Art Cataloger

    Bill King – Consignment Director

    Bully for Bugs
    Bully for Bugs
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Metal
    Peter Pan
    Peter Pan

  • Comics Platforms Lezhin and Kidari Ink Exclusive Distribution Pact

    Lezhin Entertainment and Kidari Studio announced a new step forward in strengthening their positions in the global market.

    Thanks to this strategic partnership, Lezhin Entertainment will make their titles available exclusively to Delitoon, an affiliate of Kidari Studio, for distribution in French. In exchange, Kidari Studio will make their titles available exclusively to Lezhin Entertainment for distribution in English.

    Kidari Studio entered the webtoon market in 2016 and soon rose to be the largest webtoon production studio in Korea, with over 70 new titles per year. In addition to acquiring Bomtoon in 2017 and Delitoon in 2019, Kidari Studio has produced some of the most popular webtoons in recent years, such as Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp and Light and Shadow.

    As the world’s first premium webtoon platform, Lezhin Comics offers a wide variety of Korean webtoons for English and Japanese audiences. Currently, Lezhin Comics has over 400 titles published in English which have proven popular in non-English native countries like France, Italy and Spain.

    Follow Lezhin Comics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on the latest new titles and promotions.

    Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady of the Lamp
    Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady of the Lamp
    Painter of the Night
    Painter of the Night
  • Eisner Nominees Announced; Nell Brinkley, E. Simms Campbell Join Hall of Fame

    Eisner Nominees Announced; Nell Brinkley, E. Simms Campbell Join Hall of Fame

    Comic-Con announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2020. The nominated works, published between January 1 and December 31, 2019, were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges — comics reviewer Martha Cornog (Library Journal), journalist/historian Jamie Coville (CollectorTimes.com, TheComicBooks.com), author/academic Michael Dooley (Art Center College of Design, Print magazine), novelist/comics writer Alex Grecian (The Yard, Proof, Seven Sons), podcaster/CCI volunteer Simon Jimenez and retailer Laura O’Meara (Casablanca Comics; Portland, ME).

    E Simms Campbell and Nell Brinkley
    E Simms Campbell and Nell Brinkley

    These judges have selected two Eisner Hall of Fame inductees for 2020: Pioneering newspaper cartoonist and “Queen of Comics” Nell Brinkley (1886-1944), creator of “the Brinkley Girl”‘ and cartoonist and illustrator E. Simms Campbell (1906-1971), the first African-American cartoonist to be published in nationally distributed slick magazines (Esquire, Life, Judge, Playboy, etc.) and creator of Esquire mascot “Esky” and syndicated King Features panel Cuties.

    The panel also chose 14 additional Hall of Fame contenders for public vote: Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Moto Hagio, Don Heck, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Francoise Mouly, Keiji Nakazawa, Thomas Nast, Lily Renée Peter Phillips, Stan Sakai, Louise Simonson, Don and Maggie Thompson, James Warren and Bill Watterson. (Voting is now closed.)

    Once again, this year’s Eisner Award nominees in 31 categories reflect the wide range of material being published in the U.S. today in comics and graphic novel media, representing over 170 print and online titles from more than 60 publishers and produced by creators from all over the world.

    [Ghost Tree + Little Bird]

    IDW and Image received the most nominations: IDW with 13 (plus 1 shared) and Image with 11 (plus 6 shared). Leading the pack for IDW is Ghost Tree, up for Best Limited Series, Best Writer (Bobby Curnow) and Best Penciller/Inker (Simon Gane). IDW projects with 2 nominations include Diabolical Summer (Best International Publication, Best Painter for Alexandre Clarisse) and Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo: The Complete Grasscutter Artist Select (Best Archival Collection, Best Publication Design). IDW’s Top Shelf imprint has two nominees: George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy (Best Reality-Based Work) and Penny Nichols (Best Publication for Teens, Best Writer for MK Reed & Greg Means). Image has 3 of the 6 nominees for the Best New Continuing Series category: Bitter Root, Criminal and Crowded. The Image title with the most nominations is Little Bird (Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker for Ian Bertram, and shared Best Coloring for Matt Hollingsworth).

    Other publishers with multiple nominations include Fantagraphics (12), Dark Horse (10 plus 4 shared), First Second (9 plus 1 shared), Drawn & Quarterly (9), DC (7 plus 5 shared), Europe Comics (7), Shortbox (5), Scholastic (4), Marvel (4 plus 4 shared) and BOOM! (3 plus 1 shared). Five companies had 3 nominees: Beehive Books, Nobrow, VIZ Media, SelfMadeHero (2 + 1 shared) and Titan (2 + 1 shared). Twelve companies have 2 nominations each, and another 35 companies or individuals have 1 nomination each.

    Are You Listening?
    Are You Listening?
    Invisible Kingdom
    Invisible Kingdom

    Other works with more than 2 nominations include Dark Horse’s Invisible Kingdom (Best New Series, Best Painter and Best Cover Artist for Christian Ward, Best Writer for G. Willow Wilson), Tillie Walden’s Are You Listening (Best Graphic Album–New, Best Writer/Artist, Best Lettering, from First Second), Drawn & Quarterly’s Grass (Best Reality-Based Work, Best International Publication­­–Asia, Best Writer/Artist for Keum Suk Gendry-Kim), DC’s Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (Best Publication for Teens, Best Writer for Mariko Tamaki, Best Penciller/Inker for Steve Pugh), and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Best Publication for Teens, Best Writer, Best Penciller/Inker, from First Second). Over 20 works have 2 nominations.

    James Stokoe
    James Stokoe

    The creator with the most nominations is James Stokoe with 5: Along with being chosen for Best Writer/Artist, his Sobek (published by Shortbox) is nominated for Best Single Issue and Best Humor Publication, and a book devoted to him, Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe (Dark Horse) is nominated for Best Comics-Related Book and Best Publication Design. Eight creators have 3 nominations each: Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (for Grass), David Mack (Best Painter, Best Cover Artist, Best Graphic Album–Reprint for Cover), Stan Sakai (two for the Usagi Yojimbo Grasscutter book plus Best Lettering), Mariko Tamaki (Best Writer plus two in Best Publication for Teens—Harley Quinn and Laura Dean), Lewis Trondheim (Best International Publication for SelfMadeHero’s Maggy Garrisson and Magnetic Press’s Stay, plus Best Writer), Tillie Walden (3 for Are You Listening?), Christian Ward (3 for Invisible Kingdom) and Chip Zdarsky (Best Continuing Series for Marvel’s Daredevil, Best Digital Comic for comiXology’s Afterlift, Best Writer).

    Twenty-five creators are nominated for 2 Eisners: Lynda Barry, Ian Bertram, Ed Brubaker, Nina Bunjevac, Didier Cassagrain, Alexandre Clarisse, Bobby Cornow, Colleen Doran, Bilquis Evely, Ebony Flowers, Simon Gane, Mira Jacob, Léa Mazé, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Sean Phillips, Emilie Plateau, Steve Pugh, Julie Rocheleau, MK Reed & Greg Means, Lissa Treiman, Raina Telgemeier, David Walker, Chris Ware and G. Willow Wilson.

    Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are celebrating their 32nd year of bringing attention to and highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels.

    Complete list of nominees.

    “The judging process was very challenging this year,” said Eisner Awards Administrator Jackie Estrada. “Normally, the judges all meet in San Diego for four days in a room filled with all the submitted comics and books and they are able to interact with each other in person. With the country in lockdown, they all had to stay in their respective homes (as far away as Maine, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Kingston, Ontario) so had to communicate via email, a social media group and Zoom. Packages of books went back and forth all over the country. Fortunately, we were able to work with the folks at comiXology and many of the publishers to have digital versions of hundreds of submissions available to the judges.”

    She added, “The process took two months longer than usual, so the window for voting is significantly shorter than in previous years. We encourage professionals in comics to cast their votes as soon as they can.”

    Voting for the awards is held online, and the ballot will be available at www.eisnervote.com. All professionals in the comic-book industry are eligible to vote. The deadline for voting is June 18. The results will be announced in July (further details TBA).

  • Annecy 2020 Packs in Animation Stars for Online Sessions

    Organizers of the first all-online Annecy festival have announced stellar additions to the 2020 virtual program, with major names in international animation joining the previously announced Masterclass, Work-in-Progress and Preview highlights.

    Full program available here: www.annecy.org/programme:en

    Each Annecy Masterclass showcases a journey, fueled by strong feeling and bold vision. Whether it’s the Blies Brothers, Bruno Coulais, Ron Clements, John Musker, Dean DeBlois or Henry Selick — all of them will speak about the passion that animates them!

    Dean DeBlois | Join the writer-director Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon films) in conversation with Peter Debruge (Variety). Thursday, June 18, live at 5:00-6:00 p.m. (Central European Time – CET) then on replay at Annecy Online until June 30.

    A Conversation Between Henry Selick and Bruno Coulais | Director Henry Selick and his composer Bruno Coulais discuss the role of music in Henry’s filmography and their collaborations on Coraline, as well as their upcoming film Wendell & Wild. Available to view from June 15-30.

    Ron Clements and John Musker: On Animation, Careers and Industry | Legendary Disney directors Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, The Princess and the Frog, Moana) discuss their careers and their views on the animation industry. Friday, June 19 live at 6:00-7:30 p.m. (CET), then on replay at Annecy Online until June 30.

    Sexual Violence in Animation by the Blies Brothers | The trilogy on sexual violence is formulated in three cinematographic variations on the same theme. An opportunity to analyze with the directors the power of animation for addressing the issue of sexual violence.

    Presented in 2019, the Blies Brothers’ Zero Impunity is hybrid animation and live recording in a feature film about sexual violence in wartime. Ghostdance, the second part in pre-production, will deal with indigenous femicide in Canada from a fictitious and poetic perspective. The third part, Aimer moins, will be focused on attachment and detachment theories. A film about a blighted and abused childhood, but it is especially a film about the friendship of two friends rehabilitating.

    Available from June 15-30, live Q&A June 22 at 2:00-3:00 p.m. (CET). Zero Impunity will also be available for viewing on the platform throughout the Festival.

    Cartoon Network Studios: The Art of Storyboarding | Discover the artists behind some of Cartoon Network Studios’ hit series such as Summer Camp Island, The Amazing World of Gumball and Apple & Onion. During this exclusive Masterclass, they will share their journeys, learnings and top tips for aspiring storyboard artists worldwide. Participants include:

    • Mic Graves, Series Director, The Amazing World of Gumball; Executive Producer & Series Director, Elliott From Earth
    • Julia Pott, Creator, Summer Camp Island
    • Alabaster Pizzo, Storyboard Artist, Summer Camp Island
    • Chuck Klein, Director, Apple & Onion

    Available to view from June 15-30.

    Baba Yaga
    Baba Yaga

    Joining the Work-in-Progress lineup is a first-look at Baobab Studios’s Baba Yaga — the Asteroid! and Bonfire studio’s latest immersive storytelling experience. Featured speakers will include:

    • Maureen Fan, Baobab Studios’ Co-founder
    • Eric Darnell, Co-founder/Director
    • Larry Cutler, Co-founder/CTO.

    As well as several other key members of the Baobab team such as:

    • Kane Lee, Head of Content
    • Mathias Chelebourg, Co-director
    • Ken Fountain, Animation Supervisor
    • Glenn Hernandez, Production Designer

    Available to view from June 15-30, live Q&A on June 22 at 6:00-7:00 p.m. (CET)

    Connected
    Connected

    In the Preview section, catch up on the latest developments in highly-anticipated animated features:

    Connected | Directed by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, from Sony Pictures Animation, distributed by Columbia Pictures / SPA. A comedy about an everyday family’s struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! Working remotely to finish the film, the filmmakers and artistic team give us the latest news and an exclusive glimpse.

    Yakari | Directed by Xavier Giacometti and Toby Genkel, produced by Dargaud Media, Wunderwerk GmbH and Belvision, distributed by BAC Films. With his tribe’s move to follow the migrating bison, Yakari, the little Sioux boy, sets out on his own to follow the trail of Little Thunder, a wild mustang said to be untameable. Travelling far from home and deep into the territory of the terrible Cougarskins, Yakari and Little Thunder undertake a great adventure and find their way back home.

    La Calesita | Directed by Augusto Schillaci, produced by Reel FX. This is the heartfelt story of the beloved Argentinian merry-go-round operators who have dedicated their lives to providing fun and happiness to children and their neighborhoods.

    Chicken Run
    Chicken Run

    Two beloved films bookending two decades of animated feature innovation have been added to the Making Of line-up.

    Chicken Run | 20 years after the release of Chicken Run, Nick Park and Peter Lord look back at the making of this film which changed the history of animation and brought Aardman to a new level. Distribution: DreamWorks Animation SKG.

    Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 | The pressure on filmmakers to create the next chapter in the Frozen saga was immense, made more so when cameras were invited to capture the last year of production as the team raced against the clock. Join Frozen 2 filmmakers, including Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee and her fellow director Chris Buck, as they share insights into the creation of both the film and the documentary series that followed them through the process. Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 is a rare and raw look at the creativity, heart and hard work that go into the craft of animation, giving viewers an insight into the world of our artists and storytellers as never before.

    The first episode will be available to discover in OV with French subtitles from June 26-28. All six episodes of Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 will drop on Disney+ on Friday, June 26.

    Online accreditation for the Annecy Festival and MIFA Market now open.

  • Animated Women UK Launches ‘Achieve Online 2020’ Workshops

    Animated Women UK Launches ‘Achieve Online 2020’ Workshops

    Animated Women UK, the organization supporting women in the U.K.’s VFX and animation industries, has announced it is running four online workshops in June, aimed at helping members achieve their career goals.

    The workshops, open to AWUK members at the levels of experience, are supported by ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund, with contributions from U.K. animation productions. These stand-alone workshops will all be delivered via Zoom.

    Schedule and additional details available here.

    Two of the workshops have been adapted from the most popular sessions of AWUK’s highly acclaimed Helen North Achieve Programme. “Confidence and Getting Your Voice Heard” (Friday, June 5) will include guidance on how to get heard in dailies and start building a mindset to overcome “imposter syndrome.” The “Impact and Building the Brand You” workshop (Tuesday, June 16) will help participants learn how to define their own personal brand and communicate with presence and impact.

    Workshop leaders Jan Armstrong and Marianne O’Connor have also developed two new workshops: “Managing Your Virtual Communication” (Tuesday, June 2) will focus on communicating creatively and assertively online, motivating yourself and others when working remotely, developing practical strategies for building virtual relationships and getting the most from a virtual team meeting.

    “Thriving as a Freelance” (Thursday, June 18) will give freelance members the tools to effectively market themselves; build, maintain and manage a network and raise the profile and visibility of what they do.

    These four highly interactive workshops will utilize virtual break-out spaces to allow participants to workshop ideas and receive feedback in small, supportive groups. They will also include a “surgery,” where AWUK members can discuss difficult work challenges.

    AWUK members can apply for any or all of the workshops that are relevant to them via Eventbrite. Each session runs from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. BST and costs just £25, thanks to the support of ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund.

    “We’re excited to be hosting our first-ever online workshops, thanks to the support of ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund,” said Louise Hussey, Co-Chair, VFX for AWUK. “These sessions will give AWUK members who are social distancing the tools to thrive in their careers, whether they are normally studio- or office-based or working from home. We think they will particularly appeal to time-constrained members and those living outside London.

    “More AWUK members than ever will be able to easily access our workshops, as there’s no need to travel further than your living room with Zoom!” Hussey continued. “Supporting women to reach their full potential and realize their career ambitions is our core mission. While representation of women in our industries has improved, particularly in animation, there’s still some way to go before we’re equally represented in VFX and pay parity is achieved. Building relationships, self-marketing and putting yourself forward for key projects and roles is crucial to career success. Our online workshops are focused on equipping members with the confidence and skills to achieve their career goals.”

    Abigail Addison, Animation Production Liaison Executive at ScreenSkills, said, “ScreenSkills is delighted to support Animated Women UK in adapting sessions from the Helen North Achieve Programme for online delivery. We’re also thrilled to facilitate the development of new content for workshops on virtual communication and thriving as a freelance.

    “It is thanks to the contributions from U.K. animation productions to the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund that we are able to support initiatives like these workshops, which give women wherever they’re based the knowledge and guidance to progress their careers in the animation and VFX industries.”

    www.animatedwomenuk.com

  • BAFTA TV and TV Craft Awards Nominations Announced

    BAFTA TV and TV Craft Awards Nominations Announced

    The nominees for the 2020 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards have been announced — including four high-profile productions vying for the VFX & Graphics honors.

    Special, Visual & Graphic Effects nominees:

    The Crown – Ben Turner, Chris Reynolds, Asa Shoul (Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television / Netflix)

    His Dark Materials – Framestore, Painting Practice, Real SFX, Russell Dodgson (Bad Wolf, BBC Studios / HBO / BBC One)

    Chernobyl – Lindsay McFarlane, Claudius Christian Rauch, Jean-Clément Soret, DNEG (Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games / Sky Atlantic)

    Good Omens – Milk Visual Effects, Gareth Spensley, Real SFX (Amazon Studios, BBC Studios, Narrativia, The Blank Corporation / Amazon Prime Video)

    Titles & Graphic Identity nominees:

    The Durrells – Alex MacLean (Sid Gentle Films / ITV)

    The Great – Elastic (New Pictures, Original Pictures / Sky Atlantic)

    His Dark Materials – Elastic, Painting Practice (Bad Wolf, BBC Studios, HBO / BBC One)

    Ghosts – Light Creative (Monumental Television, Them There / BBC One)

    The full list of nominees is available here.

    Winners of the 2020 British Academy Television Craft Awards will be revealed on Friday, July 17, followed by the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards on Friday, July 31.

    The British Academy confirmed the dates last week, announcing that the BAFTA TV Awards will be broadcast live on BBC One, while the TV Craft Awards will be live streamed through BAFTA social channels, including YouTube.

    The BAFTA TV awards will be presented for the first time by comedian, writer, actor and director Richard Ayoade, who has lent his distinctive voice to animated series and films including Apple & Onion Moominvalley, Danger Mouse, The LEGO Movie 2, Early Man, The BoxTrolls and Pixar’s upcoming Soul.

    “I am as surprised as you are that this is still going ahead,” Ayoade wrily commented in last Friday’s announcement.

    Stephen Mangan (animation V.O. credits: Postman Pat, Bromwell High,Cartoon Network’s Sunday Pants, Watership Down) will return to host the TV Craft Awards for the ninth time.

    “I’m absolutely delighted to be hosting the BAFTA Craft Awards again — handing out our industry’s highest accolades to the people who make this country’s television world-leading,” Mangan said. “The format might have to change a little this year, but nothing will stop me putting on black tie and celebrating their success.”

    Chernobyl
    Chernobyl
    Good Omens
    Good Omens
    His Dark Materials
    His Dark Materials
    The Crown
    The Crown
    The Crown
    The Crown

  • Baobab Studios Unveils First Look at ‘Baba Yaga’ for Annecy 2020

    Baobab Studios Unveils First Look at ‘Baba Yaga’ for Annecy 2020

    Multiple Emmy Award winner Baobab Studios will unveil a first look at their newest immersive experience, Baba Yaga, with a special “Work in Progress” presentation at the Annecy International Animation Festival’s 2020 Online edition. The presentation will debut on Monday, June 15 and be available to accredited festival viewers for the entire two-week event.

    Baobab’s WIP session at Annecy Online will feature co-founder/CEO Maureen Fan, co-founder/CCO Eric Darnell and co-founder/CTO Larry Cutler, as well as several other key members of the Baobab team such as Head of Content Kane Lee, Co-director Mathias Chelebourg, Animation Supervisor Ken Fountain and Production Designer Glenn Hernandez. The presentation will reflect on many of the studio’s award-winning past films, from Asteroids!, Invasion! and Bonfire to Crow: The Legend, and discuss the studio’s philosophy and unique approach to interactive filmmaking while offering a special sneak peek at Baba Yaga.

    Directed by Darnell, whose pre-Baobab credits include the Madagascar film franchise, and co-directed by Mathias Chelebourg, Baba Yaga is a contemporary portrayal of the Eastern European legend inspired by illustrative 2D pop-up animation, hand-drawn and stop-motion styles, creating a modern visual language for VR inspired by classic animation. Leveraging the studio’s award-winning animation pioneers and interactive gaming veterans, Baba Yaga blends theater, cinema and animation into a unique experience that explores themes of empowerment and environmentalism.

    “While we wish we could actually be in Annecy meeting up with all our friends in the industry to celebrate the best in animation this month, we’re so happy to participate in the festival’s online programming with this first look at what we’ve been up to at Baobab with our newest film, Baba Yaga,” said Darnell.

    Additionally, the Baobab Studios team will participate in a Live Q&A hosted by the Annecy festival on June 23 at 9 a.m. PST / 6 p.m. France time. Featured panelists will include several key creatives from the Baba Yaga production, including Darnell, Chelebourg, Fountain and Development Producer Shannon Ryan.

    Baba Yaga will premiere in multiple formats later this year.

    www.baobabstudios.com

    Baba Yaga
    Baba Yaga
    Baba Yaga
    Baba Yaga
  • Petoons Fully Kickstarts ‘Curse of the Sea Rats’ in 9 Hours

    Petoons Fully Kickstarts ‘Curse of the Sea Rats’ in 9 Hours

    Barcelona-based transmedia IP incubator Petoons Studio announced that its epic, hand-drawn “ratoidvania” game hit 100% of its Kickstarter goal less than nine hours after launching the campaign. 

    Featuring beautiful classic animation reminiscent of Disney and Don Bluth films, the game blends 2D models and 3D environments for a rich 2.5D side-scrolling platformer experience, packing in the best features of the Metroidvania genre. Players are tasked with helping our heroes — Douglas, Buffalo, Akane and Bussa — to rescue the Admiral’s son, capture the evil pirate witch Flora Burn and break the magic spell she used to transform them all into rats.

    In Curse of the Sea Rats, players will explore the island, battle diabolic creatures and fight brutal bosses commanded by Flora as they forge their own path to freedom in a non-linear quest across the vast, mysterious coast of 1777 Ireland. Coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

    Founded by Sergio García and Daniel del Amor in 2016, the Petoons Studio team is made up of artists, animators, programmers and experts in children’s and family entertainment pioneering the new Art of “Storyplaying” — fusing video games, animation series and education. The indie studio’s first game, Petoons Party, is available for PlayStation 4, Steam, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Petoons has been a partner of the PlayStation Talents initiative created by Sony Interactive Entertainment Spain to develop talent and local content in the country.

    www.curseofthesearats.com | www.petoons.com

  • Global TV & Licensing Round-Up

    Global TV & Licensing Round-Up

    Mondo TV announced another new licensee for its exciting, highly original new kids’ animated series MeteoHeroes: Pea & Promoplast, a global leader in collectibles, promotions, toys, entertainment and loyalty programs, is planning a range of pocket money toys to be developed and distributed via its Play Around division, a new toy company led by a dynamic young team with a passion for creating innovative projects for both own brand and licensed ranges.

    The range, which will be available in the autumn, will include a wide selection of 3D figurines, playsets and gadgets all aimed at the show’s gender-neutral target audience aged between four and seven. The items will highlight both the show’s impressive array of gadgets and its stars: Fulmen, Nix, Nubess, Pluvia, Thermo and Ventum – six ordinary kids with extraordinary powers. The pocket money toys will be available in the mass market across Italy, San Marino, Canton Ticino and Vatican City. In line with the aims of the show – in which the six kids use their superpowers to protect the planet from extreme weather events and pollution – a large part of the products’ design and development will involve recyclable materials.

    The series will launch July 6, following a four-episode sneak peek on Italy’s Cartoonito time to the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.

    Milly Molly
    Milly Molly

    Beyond Kids, the children’s entertainment division of London, Dublin and Sydney-based Beyond Distribution, has secured around 100 hours of digital sales deals with SVOD and AVOD platforms across its kids titles. Kidoodle.TV, the global safe streaming family focused channel, and Ameba, the U.S. & Canadian SVOD/AVOD kids platform, both acquired 50 hour package deals for titles including CBBC’s Numberjacks (66 x 15’), Get Squiggling (50 x 15’) and ABC Australia’s Milly Molly (26 x 30’).

    Deals were negotiated on behalf of Beyond Kids by Zoe Allen, VP of Sales for Central Eastern Europe, Benelux, Israel, AVOD and Inflight.

    Bubu
    Bubu

    Nucleus Media Rights has also announced an agreement with kids’ Safe Streaming platform Kidoodle.TV, owned by A Parent Media Co. Inc., for the preschool series Bubu and The Little Owls. Beginning June, Kidoodle.TV will feature the first two seasons (52 x 11′) of the acclaimed animated children’s series globally on connected devices including iOS, Android, AppleTV, Fire TV, LG, Samsung, Chromecast, Roku, Amazon, IPTV STBs, VIDAA-enabled Hisense devices, HTML5 Web, compliant Smart TVs, and other streaming media devices.

    Launching on Kidoodle.TV in both English and Spanish, the charming preschool series follows the adorable adventures of Bubu, a curious and energetic young owl who is always in a hurry to explore the world outside her shell. Along with her brainy younger brother Biel and cute baby sister Bonie, Bubu is determined to see the forest beyond her family’s branch in the highest sequoia tree of the High Branches neighborhood. By working together and making new friends, they will play, create, sing and find the answers to their questions about the beauty and wonder of nature.

    Miraculous
    Miraculous

    Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, the brand based on the globally popular animated series (130 x 22′) created by ZAG and produced by ZAG and ON Kids & Family (Mediawan Group) won the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair 2019 Best Pre-School Licensing Project Award. Planeta Junior holds the licensing rights to the Miraculous brand in Italy, Spain, Portugal, CEE, Greece and Turkey.

    The Jury, formed by Cecilia Padula (ViacomCBS Italia), Federica Pitascio (Rai Ragazzi) and Ivan Colecchia (Kidz Global), awarded the prize to children’s clothing brand and retailer Chicco and promotional partner Leolandia. Chicco created an exclusive capsule collection of clothing comprising 12 designs for a broad age range of girls from nine months to eight years old, and customers with a minimum purchase were provided free tickets to enter Leolandia. Chicco selected the iconic Miraculous Ladybug to personalize points of sale and generate 360º activation in stores.

    Having sold over 120 million products and with great digital achievements (16.4 billion views, 11 million subscribers on official channels and over 100 million app downloads), Miraculous follows the adventures of two seemingly typical teens with secret identities, Marinette and Adrien, who magically transform into superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir. As secret superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir are partners in the action. But in the daytime, Marinette is just a normal girl, living a normal life. Cat Noir will do anything to support and impress Ladybug, but does not know this is Marinette from his class. Marinette, in turn, dreams of Adrien and simply gets little response. When evil threatens, can they beat the unexpected villains? The series’ main values include girl empowerment, secret identities, love, friendship, creativity and fashion.

  • Animated Winners: Daun Kim Takes College TV Award, Axis Snags RTS Scotland Honors

    Animated Winners: Daun Kim Takes College TV Award, Axis Snags RTS Scotland Honors

    Virtual awards ceremonies continue to honor the year’s stand-out work across film, TV and new media. This week, both the Television Academy Foundation based in California and the Royal Television Society Scotland celebrated their 2020 winners.

    The TAF’s 40th College Television Awards were held Saturday night over a global livestream for the first time. Awards were presented remotely by TV stars Yeardley Smith (The Simpsons), Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood), Melissa Barrera (Vida), Gabi Butler (Cheer), Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), Grant Gustin (The Flash), Kelly McCreary (Grey’s Anatomy), Ryan Michelle Bathe (All Rise; The First Wives Club), Mishel Prada (Vida, Riverdale), Drew and Jonathan Scott (Property Brothers: Forever Home) and Shoshannah Stern (Grey’s Anatomy; This Close).

    Nominees were also treated to a surprise congratulatory video featuring André Holland (The Eddy), Amy Poehler (Duncanville, Parks and Recreation), Amandla Stenberg (The Eddy), Tracey Ullman (Mrs. America), Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere) and Reese Witherspoon (Little Fires Everywhere) during the show. The program was hosted by CBS’s The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation and IMDb on the Scene – Interviews correspondent Albert Lawrence, who is also a Television Academy Foundation alumnus.

    The awards show is available for VOD viewing at TelevisionAcademy.com/CTA.

    Emulating the Emmy Awards selection process, entries for the College Television Awards were judged by Television Academy members. Top honors and a $3,000 cash prize provided by KIA Motors America, the official automotive partner of the awards, went to winning teams in eight categories.

    The College Television Award for Animation went to Daun Kim (Ringling College of Art + Design) for Don’t Croak — an emotional CGI thriller about a frog escaping vivisection by a determined, frenzied girl in a middle school science lab.

    Also nominated were Papito by Sarika Persaud and Kenny Rosen (School of Visual Arts) and why z? by Asher Horowitz (School of Visual Arts).

    The RTS, Britain’s leading forum for television and related media, Scotland Centre crowned the winners of the RTS Scotland Awards 2020 Wednesday evening on the RTS Scotland YouTube channel, with actor, comedian and writer Karen Dunbar hosting the online event. The Awards, now in their 7th year, celebrate the best productions and leaders in their craft across the nation, from Current Affairs to Drama, with 26 categories in total. There are also two special awards presented during the ceremony: the Judges’ Award (new for 2020; BBC Scotland) and the RTS Scotland Award (Donalda MacKinnon, Director, BBC Scotland.

    Lisa Hazlehurst, Chair of Judges and Head of Lion Scotland & Executive Producer, said, “The RTS Scotland Awards get bigger every year and 2020 is no exception with a record number of entries. We are delighted to celebrate and recognise the formidable standard of work demonstrated in entries across all genres and categories.”

    Visit https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-scotland-awards-2020-nominations for more information.

    The Animation and VFX RTS Scotland Award was bestowed on Axis Studios for its “Magic: The Gathering – War of the Spark” official trailer. Produced for Wizards of the Coast, the fully CG-animated piece directed by Stuart Aitken represents a big leap forward for the MtG franchise. The artistic style and character design were kept faithful to the brand’s famous game-card illustrations, while adding a sense of realism that underpins the protagonist’s dramatic choice between good and evil.

    Also nominated were Playdead’s “KS3 Science” and “Victorian Scotland” episodes for BBC’s Bitesize series.

  • Manus Launches Polygon Full-Body Tracking for VR, Prime II Haptic Gloves

    Manus Launches Polygon Full-Body Tracking for VR, Prime II Haptic Gloves

    MANUS, the trusted Netherlands-based industry provider of quality Prime Series wireless data gloves harnessed by global professionals for high-fidelity finger tracking in virtual reality, announced the release of Polygon, the suitless real-time full-body tracking solution and the advanced Prime II Haptic gloves. The full suite of next-generation products saw official launch at the first Augmented World Expo Online, in May.

    With the introduction of next-gen products alongside company rebrand, Manus now provides users with a complete, robust and efficient VR system specifically designed for teams across the enterprise sector of automotive, manufacturing, engineering and life sciences, including creators of virtual experiences within media and entertainment.

    “Our team at Manus have listened to those in the industries who require believable real world interactions inside their virtual world environments,” said Bart Loosman, CEO. “We’re delighted to offer our customers a full service solution to expedite projects and team collaborations – whether it’s essential to speed up product prototyping, provide deeper immersion during engineer and medical training and simulation, or to entertain audiences with realistic motion for 3D virtual character animation and pre-visualisation. Manus has a robust and versatile solution to fit all needs.”

    “The Prime One gloves have always delivered and we can’t wait to get our hands on the Prime II gloves for our WorldViz Vizard VR software user base,” commented Matthias Pusch, VP Sales & Marketing, WorldViz. “Manus is raising the standard for VR academic research and physiological measurements this year!”

    Manus Polygon, the new software solution answers industry demand for an efficient, no-suit-required alternative that seamlessly delivers high-fidelity human motion data and whole bodies in VR for individuals or team collaboration. Using only five trackers with Polygon’s full-body IK solver (inverse kinematics), the portable and quick set-up system detects finest nuances in human motion to deliver continuous fluid movements transferred from participant directly to any 3D character style in real-time. Quality results are seen instantly with time-saving auto-filters to eliminate the need for post-production efforts.

    The next-generation Prime II Series has undergone a complete upgrade, designed to optimise the user experience faster and for longer. All gloves are highly intuitive by replacing controllers and buttons in VR, acute finger tracking means every minuscule movement is measured providing users with precise results. Manus now offers three editions to market:

    • Prime II: The base glove is the standalone data glove ideal for use in robotics, a VR glove to replace controllers, and as a motion capture glove.
    • Prime II Haptic: The newest edition provides cutting-edge haptic feedback technology, to ensure deeper sensory and tactility when interacting with objects and textures in VR.
    • Prime II Xsens: Seamless integration with Xsens MVN Animate to complete 3D character animations by adding natural hand and finger gestures.

    Manus Polygon Highlights:

    • Eliminates need for motion capture suit.
    • Integrated full-body solving IK system: accurately tracks body movements via six data points.
    • Combine Polygon and Prime II Haptic to expand real-time sensations of

      • natural touch and intuitive prop interactions.

    • Self-calibrate tool: Fast autonomous, quick eight-step 45 second calibration process. Auto-assigns data points to corresponding trackers, full-body avatar delivered within seconds.
    • Supports individuals and multi-users during training and simulation sessions, and global VR team collaborations, supports any 3D character animation and virtual setting.
    • Accurately proportioned virtual human skeleton, motion retargeted and synchronised from actor to avatar in real time.

    Manus Prime II Gloves Highlights:

    • Precise finger tracking, detailed finger spread and overstretch measurement: Flex sensors measure 2 joints per finger, 11 DoF tracking of individual fingers by sensor fusion with IMU’s, drift prevented with new auto-filters, flex sensor reference points.
    • Interchangeable battery: Five hours of uninterrupted motion capture, gloves instantly reconnect after swap.
    • Universal tracker mounting system.
    • Washable glove textile.
    • Quick accurate (multi-user) calibration: 45 second turnaround.

    Prominent customers already relying on Manus products are Lockheed Martin, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), General Motors, Volvo, Electronic Arts and Facebook Reality Labs.

    Manus Polygon is available for purchase now as a SaaS. The pack includes a Unity and Unreal plugin and allows all types of retargeting on any avatar style.

    Prime II Series is set for release July 1. Comes complete with one pair of Manus Prime II Gloves, USB-C cable x2, Manus dongle, batteries x2, charger and mounting adapters. Manus plugins for compatibility with Unity, Unreal Engine and MotionBuilder as standard.Visit the website for more information on software compatibility for each product offering. All online demos and tutorials available from June.

    Polygon and Prime II Series gloves compatible with HMDs: Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, Valve INDEX, Varjo, SteamVR and HTC VIVE.

    www.manus-vr.com

  • Virtual Cannes 2020 Festival Selects 4 Animated Features

    Virtual Cannes 2020 Festival Selects 4 Animated Features

    Organizers of the prestigious Festival de Cannes announced the 56 selections of this year’s virtual film confab via livestream on Wednesday. This includes four highly anticipated animated features, plucked from a record 2,067 feature film submissions received this year.

    The animated selections include the much buzzed-about new Pixar original Soul, directed by Pete Docter, and Studio Ghibli’s debut CGI feature Aya to Majo, helmed by Goro Miyazaki and based on Diana Wynne Jones’ Earwig and the Witch, as well compelling, artistic European gems: Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary that delves into one man’s complex and emotional experience as an Aghani refugee who arrived in Denmark as a child, Flee, and Josep, the debut feature from French artist Aurel (Aurélien Froment) — a beautifully crafted, deeply feeling portrait of Catalan artist, Spanish Civil War soldier, concentration camp escapee, blacklisted and underrecognized luminary Josep Bartolí.

    Festival director Thierry Frémaux noted in his message regarding the 2020 selection that the selection committee saw an increase in the number of first films (15 selected this year, compared to 10 in 2019), continued expansion of the geographic range represented by films (147 countries this year, compared to 138 in 2019), and steps toward achieving 50/50 gender parity for competing directors — this year, 532 female directors submitted films (25.7%), fewer than last year, but more were included in the official selection: 16 in 2020 vs. 14 in 2019 and just six in 2015.

    “This Selection is here, and it’s a beautiful one,” Frémaux wrote. “Even though movie theaters have been shut for three months — for the first time since the invention of film screening by the Lumière Brothers on December 28, 1895 — this Selection reflects that cinema is more alive than ever. It remains unique, irreplaceable. We live in a world where moving images are in constant evolution, whether we talk of the way the movies are shown or the movies themselves. Cinema makes a difference, thanks to those who make it, those who give it life and those who receive it and make it glorious. ‘Coming soon to a theater near you’: the formula has never been so compelling. We will see it soon: cinema is not dead, it’s not even sick.”

    Selections in the short film competition and Cinefondation program will be announced soon. Cannes is also presenting a virtual Marché du Film this year due to the ongoing pandemic — more information at www.marchedufilm.com.

    Animated Film selections:

    Aya to Majo (Aya and the Witch) by Gorō Miyazaki (Japan) | Production: NHK / NHK Enterprises / Studio Ghibli | Int’l Sales: Wild Bunch International

    Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark) | Production: Final Cut For Real | Int’l Sales: Cinephil

    Josep by Aurel (France) | Production: Les Film d’Ici | Int’l Sales: Doc & Film International

    Soul by Pete Docter (U.S.) | Production: Pixar Animation Studios | Distribution: The Walt Disney Company

  • Storytellers “Must Keep Pushing”: ‘Hair Love’ Producer Karen Rupert Toliver in WIA Statement on Protests

    In a timely letter to the Women in Animation community this week, WIA President Marge Dean ceded the floor to Karen Rupert Toliver to share her thoughts, feelings and perspective as a Black woman and mother during the widespread protests inspired by the extrajudicial killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others. Toliver is the Executive Vice President of Creative at Sony Pictures Animation, a member of the WIA Advisory Committee and the producer of Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love (watch it here or read more about the film here).

    In her letter, Toliver reflected on the emotional upheaval of 2020, the unfolding protests, riots and reactions — and where the strengths and responsibilities of those in the entertainment and animation communities lie in creating a better future.

    “Part of our job in entertainment is to help throw focus on that painful reality. We already know that our industry needs to be more diverse and representative. We must keep pushing. It’s urgent. But also advocating for diverse storytelling has a huge part to play. And in this area we are also not doing nearly enough. It’s not just about including Black characters in our stories. We need to influence hearts and minds to think differently. To remind us that we are all connected, that other people’s hurt is everyone’s hurt. We need to encourage people to not look away from uncomfortable things, but instead breathe into that discomfort. We need to use all the resources at our disposal to help move this cause forward. And one powerful resource is fearless storytelling,” Toliver wrote.

    Her missive ends with a call to action that all individuals can follow: “For myself and my children and my community, I need to decide how to do more than be sad, angry, and hurt because here’s the harsh truth about our personal responsibility: if you aren’t participating in trying to make change, if you are silent, you are complicit in maintaining the status quo. And the status quo continues to target and kill Black men and decimate the Black community. And this cause needs white voices to join the Black community. Do something and do it now. Find a way: Make leaders accountable; Advocate for policy changes; Donate money; Tutor; Get involved in Black community Organizations. Figure it out. Do it now. Force yourself out of your bubble. And stay in touch with this issue so it doesn’t die, again, in the next news cycle.”

    Dean closed out the post with the following statement:

    “Women in Animation will not let this issue die. We stand with the black community and specifically the black community in animation. We are committed to making significant changes in the animation industry, our organization, our families and ourselves. I grew up in New York and remember the Newark riots in 1967, and I lived in mid-Wilshire with my young kids during the LA Uprising in 1992. Each time, we thought things would be different, and yet here we are again. WIA is committed to seeing that permanent change happens this time; even if it’s just in our small part of the world, the animation industry. (Which I say facetiously, knowing that animation is hugely influential.)

    This doesn’t end here.

    #BlackLivesMatter”

    You can read the letter in full on WIA’s website.

    Karen Toliver shot by Michael Lewis at the SPA offices in April 2019.