Premiere European pitching event for animated features Cartoon Movie took place last week in its new host burg of Bordeaux, France, welcoming 850 participants (up 14% from last year) from 41 different countries for its 19th edition. This year, 43 game companies were represented, as well as 221 buyers — including 125 distributors and sales agents.
The 55 pitch projects selected for the 2017 forum represented a diverse range of genres, production techniques and budgets (from 3 to 13 million euro). There were 17 projects in concept, 26 in development, 9 in production and 3 sneak previews. For the first time, projects from Georgia, Ukraine and Israel were in the mix. And the local region had a strong showing with 7 projects developed in Bordeaux and Angoulême under the aegis of the Pôle Image Magelis. Family comedies and kids’ adventure films remained the largest contingent, with 35 projects.
In-Concept projects generating a lot of enthusiasm this year included: Remy Shaepman’s The Nazis, My Father and Me (Folivari, produced by Didier Brunner); an adaptation of Marina Lewycka’s novel Two Caravans (Blue Zoo Animation); Unicorn Wars (Schmuby Prod.), Single Mom in Korea (Marmitafilms) by Jung Henin (Approved for Adoption); and Princess Dragon (Ankama Animations) by the Dofus duo Anthony Roux & Jean-Jacques Denis.
Animation for adults (*) made up 33% of the 10 best-attended pitches, which were: Zombillenium by Arthur de Pins (Maybe Movies); The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales based on Benjamin Renner’s books (Folivari); *Miss Saturne by Jérôme Combe & Barbara Israël (Prima Linea); Wolfwalkers by Tomm Moore (Cartoon Saloon); Calamity, A Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary by Rémi Chayé (Maybe Movies); Kensuke’s Kingdom by Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry (Lupus Films); The Prince’s Journey by Jean-François Laguionie (Blue Spirit Prod.); Charlotte by Bibo Bergeron (co-prod. Les Films du Poisson Rouge); *The Siren by Sepideh Farsi (Les films d’ici); and *Super Vinamotor by Stéphanie Lansaque & François Leroy (Je suis bien content).
In collaboration with Bordeaux Games, Pôle Image Magelis and CATS (Cluster Aquitain du Transmedia Storytelling), Cartoon organized Cartoon Games & Apps matchmaking sessions, 20 minute meetings between animation producers, transmedia & gaming professionals. 43 video game representatives (including Ubisoft, Shinypix, FrameOver, Remote Control Prod., Waveor and Solidanim) from Germany, Belgium, Spain and France mingled with 61 European animation producers in over 300 sessions.
The 2017 Cartoon Tributes honors were swept by My Life as a Zucchini (Ma Vie de Courgette). Director of the Year went to Claude Barras; Distributor of the Year to Angel Films (Denmark); and Rida Prod. (Switzerland), Blue Spirit Prod. and Gebeka Films (France) were named Producers of the Year.
Cartoon Movie also followed the lead of its sister event, Cartoon Forum, by spotlighting a specific region, selecting Flanders this year. The Flandriens of Animation showcase included 8 selected projects (5 in co-production), presentations of Flemish studios during Croissant Shows, and a Farewell Cocktail featuring famous Flemish chocolates, beers, and Belgian frites. Six particularly successful Flemish pitches were: Charlotte (Les Productions Balthazar/Walking The Dog), The Siren (Les films d’ici/Lunanime), Crazy Island (Grid Animation), Fox and Hare Save the Forest (Submarine/Walking The Dog), HUMP (MovieBrats Pictures/Walking The Dog) and Canaan (Tondo/Tarantula/Superprod) directed by Jan Bultheel (Cafard).
The next Cartoon Movie will take place March 7-9, 2018 in Bordeaux. See cartoon-media.eu for more event information.
