The event was conceived last year as an exclusive international business platform for efficient, project-specific negotiations about financing and distribution channels for animated feature films. One-to-one meetings were developed for this purpose. The number and quality of projects submitted this year indicate demand for the format.
Nineteen selected animated-film projects with international potential will be presented in focused individual meetings at APD 2008. More than 40 participants come from Germany, France, Spain, the United States, Ireland, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. German companies include scopas medien, MotionWorks, and MovieCompany, whose adaptation of the successful ARD brand “The Sandman and the Lost Dream Sand” is scheduled to enter production in 2008. French producer Les Armateurs, known for “Kirikou” and the 2003 Academy Award-nominated “The Triplets of Belleville,” is presenting “Ernest & Celestine” by author Daniel Pennac. Films Action is returning after completing financing at APD07 in Stuttgart for the €22 million “The Wizard of Oz.” Danish studio A.Film and Irish company Magma, both also represented in Germany, are presenting projects as well.
The European animation industry has grown strongly over the past eight years. A total of 127 animated features were produced from 1964 to 1998, compared with 110 between 1999 and 2007 alone. Annual production rose by 150%, from five to more than twelve animated features. The article identifies established or newly created brands and cooperation with strong partners as prerequisites for securing international production and marketing budgets. APD is designed to address this development.
APD is hosted by the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film and FMX, the international conference for animation, effects, games, and digital media. It is organized by Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH and the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, in cooperation with Michael Schmetz Mediaconsult.
Further Links:
- Complete Participant List and Further Information
