Animation du Monde
Summary
Explore the sensitivity, creativity and potential of creators of projects from emerging countries in animation with the Animation du Monde Pitch Sessions.
Gulli, official partner of Animation du Monde
Gulli is France’s top children’s channel, but it’s also an international brand in 45 countries with spin-offs in Russia, French-speaking Africa and the Middle East.
Following in the footsteps of Gulli Africa in 2015, Gulli Bil Arabi, broadcast in Arabic, was founded in 2017 in 18 countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
Building on this international development, Gulli wanted to team up with Animation du Monde in order to promote young talents from all corners of the world by helping them find partners who can bring their projects to life.
Animation projects "without borders"
Annecy has always sought to spotlight countries with a limited capacity for the production of animation projects. With this in mind, the Animation du Monde Pitch sessions were created in 2015. Due to their success, they have become a category in their own right within the Mifa Pitches for 2016.
Now, writers, animators or filmmakers can submit a short or feature, TV series or transmedia animation project either as a personal piece of work or through a structure put in place in their home country.
This also gives Annecy and the Mifa the opportunity to continue the initiatives set up for young talents by offering them the possibility to acquire funding, co-production deals or work collaborations for their projects, while also giving the creators the chance to take part in an international event they would normally not have access to.
In 2017, these filmmakers-in-the-making will be given an extra boost from the AGrAF (les Auteurs groupés de l’animation française). As partners of the Annecy Festival, representatives from the association will be here on behalf of artists who encourage creation and promote networking and solidarity amongst fellow professionals.
Three members from the AGrAF (graphic artists, filmmakers and screenwriters), Claire Fouquet, Fabienne Gambrelle and Éric Vanz de Godoy, participated in the selection of winning projects and will coach the Animation du Monde participants during a writing workshop to help them prepare for their presentations to a live audience during the Mifa Pitch sessions.
African Animation Network
In 2017 the first Pan-African animation pitching competition was hosted in Africa. This was as a result of partnerships between DISCOP Markets, MIFA and the African Animation Network. 50 projects in development were entered into the inaugural Annecy – Mifa Pitches Animation du Monde with entries received from 8 countries – South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Togo and Ethiopia. 2 semi-finals were hosted at DISCOP Abidjan and DISCOP Johannesburg with 6 projects selected from each to compete in the Grand Finale at DISCOP Johannesburg. An Annecy Mifa – Animation du Monde – Skills Programme was aligned to the pitching competition and hosted by Geraldine Bache, Head of Education and Projects, MIFA. The skills programme encompassed a pitching workshop, training sessions and one-on-one meetings which ensured all the contestants were prepared ahead of the Grand Finale.
At the Grand Finale, the 2 projects which were selected to represent Africa and compete against their global counterparts at Animation du Monde 2018 were Mumue, a short film by Wendy Spinks & Cléa Mallison (South Africa) and The Tree of Palimpsest a TV series by Ingrid Agbo (Togo).
There was strong industry involvement in the competition with Turner (TV Series & Specials), Toon Boom (Short Films), Digital Lab Africa (Transmedia) and The Animation School (Feature Films) all represented on the judging panel.
In 2018, the footprint of the competition will be widened and will take place across 3 markets (DISCOP Abidjan, Zanzibar & Johannesburg) and 3 comic conventions (ICON Comic & Gaming Convention, Nairobi Comic Convention & Lagos Comic Convention) spanning Southern, Eastern & Western Africa with the Grand Finale at DISCOP Johannesburg. This will ensure a greater diversity and representation of animation talent from more territories and countries in Africa.
The partnerships between DISCOP Markets and Mifa have been a catalyst for African talent to be identified, mentored and introduced to African and international influencers in a territory not renowned for IP development yet rich in talent and cultures.
Cameroun
The EMANFILM project, launched and implemented in Cameroon since 2016 by the Tous’Anime association, has resulted in the creation of the Animation du Monde’s special Cameroon programme, thanks to the support and partnership of the Institut français du Cameroun, Institut de formation et de conservation du patrimoine audiovisuel (IFCPA) of Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV), Ministry of Arts and Culture of Cameroon, and CITIA.
In 2016, a call for animated film projects was launched to initially make preparations and, in 2017, an appraisal mission was subsequently carried out by CITIA (Véronique Encrenaz, Head of Projects, Mifa). This convinced a delegation from Cameroon to visit Annecy for the 2017 International Animation Film Festival.
Following a special call for projects made for Cameroon in July 2017, five young project leaders were selected to take part in the Animation du Monde workshop.
This three-day workshop, led by Géraldine Baché (Head of Education & Projects Mifa, CITIA), Clémentine Robach (director) and Ivan Zuber (producer, Laïdak Films), helped to improve the narration and story editing of projects. All of the candidates, most of whom were self-taught, learned a lot from this workshop.
A final pitch session resulted in Le Garçon des nuages by Alain Ngombe Babillon being chosen to represent Cameroon in the 2018 Animation du Monde Mifa Pitches.
The Tous’Anime association, which acts as the main stakeholder for developing and promoting animation in Cameroon, is delighted about this fantastic collaboration between the Institut français du Cameroun and CITIA. So far, it has brought about the realisation of the EMANFILM and CANIMAF festival projects. The next objective is to ensure the longevity of this impetus in order to encourage and support the development of the animation sector in Cameroon.
