Basque Animation Surge: Drivers of its Building Success

Liza Foreman Delivering MipJunior’s keynote on Saturday, a composed Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation talked up some of the recurrent themes at this weekend’s kids content confab, not to mention the network’s strategies for its slew of successful franchises. In her current position, the Nickelodeon veteran has overseen huge expansion. Five years ago, she said, there were only nine animation properties in development.

Marta Balaga “Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light” continues to ward off the darkness. LevelK’s Czech stop-motion animation has sold to over 40 territories, including Germany (Eksystent Distribution), France (Eurozoom /Panoranime), Spain (MODIband Projectes Culturals), Italy (Just Wanted), Portugal (Film4you), Israel (New Cinema), Slovenia (Demiurg), MENA (Empire Networks), Switzerland (Out-side the Box), Estonia (Estin Film) Sweden (Njutafilms) and Denmark (Angel Distribution). “From the first moment we watched it, we saw its uniqueness and quality.

Heat will be his next movie.The director discussed the follow-up while speaking onstage at Deadline’s Contenders London event on Sunday (October 8), where he confirmed it will be his next movie after Ferrari starring Adam Driver.Asked if the sequel, based on the follow-up novel released last year, will be his next project, Mann said: “Yes. Meg Gardiner and myself wrote the novel Heat 2, which came out right when we were shooting Ferrari. It did very well.

It seems like we’ve been talking about a potential “Heat” sequel film for years now. But really, things have only, uh, heated up regarding a new film since the release of the “Heat 2” novel.

Azealia Banks is coming very hard for Drake on social media.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Sony Pictures Animation is shoring up its executive ranks with the addition of Damien de Froberville, who has been named executive vice president of production and operating strategy. De Froberville comes from the Spain-based shop Sergio Pablos Animation and will largely assume a portfolio held by long-serving SPA executive Pam Marsden.

With a budget less than 20 times that of The Boys and “barely” any marketing, Amazon Prime Video‘s Invincible has succeeded through word of mouth and attracting new viewers to the genre, according to its EP Marge Dean.

Ben Croll Introduced last year, MIA’s dedicated animation program heads into its sophomore edition with a more firmly entrenched industry position and a resoundingly global outlook. With the program scaffolding already in place, MIA curators spent the past year shoring up support and scouting for projects at key markets in Berlin, Cannes and Annecy, resulting in a program of roughly 30 co-production pitch projects and works-on-progress that altogether spans more than 40 countries.

Michaela Zee DreamWorks Animation is undergoing layoffs, cutting approximately 70 staffers from its workforce, Variety has learned. “DreamWorks Animation reduced its workforce by approximately 70 positions. Roles affected were across corporate functions, feature, television and technology departments as part of an overall cost-reduction,” a spokesperson for DreamWorks told Variety.

EXCLUSIVE: DreamWorks Animation is making cuts and slashing four percent of its staff. We understand that the cuts are due to the downward cyclical turn in the business, rising production costs and the strikes.

StudioCanal, Mercis & Superrod Team On Animated Series ‘Miffy’

Caroline Brew editor In collaboration with Sony Pictures, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) announced the return of the CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator. The initiative aims to identify and equip the next generation of AAPI animation professionals with the skills to become directors in feature film and episodic animation.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has taken a step toward what could be a major economic package to boost local film, TV and digital production.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Oscar-winning actor Ariana DeBose looks to the starry night and sings her heart’s desire in the trailer for Disney’s new animated feature “Wish.” If you’ve ever wondered how the Wishing Star came to be, this animated musical feature, set to be released on Nov. 22, is an ode to that legacy that has been featured so prominently throughout Disney Animation’s history. DeBose stars as Asha, a 17-year-old who lives in the magical kingdom of Rosas, a fantastical place ruled by Disney’s newest villain, Chris Pine’s King Magnifico, and built on people’s wishes and hopes.

Callum McLennan A salute to Basque cinema, the 71st edition of the San Sebastian Festival has once again unfurled its Zinemira section, a brainchild conceived in collaboration with the Basque government’s Department of Culture. Serving as more than just a showcase, Zinemira comes wrapped in the financial backing of sponsors Irizar and EiTB, with collaborative support from Urbil, the Basque Film Archive, EPE/APV, IBAIA, and Zineuskadi.

Holly Jones Spain’s Basque Country, an ever-evolving film hub, continues to see a consolidation of talent driven by an animation boom alongside an increase in the production of ambitious genre cinema, marked by the colossal success of recent projects on streaming platforms and pick-ups by labs and festivals. As San Sebastian unspools, the sequel to “The Platform,” the second most watched non-English Netflix movie in the streamer’s history, is in production in the Basque Country, produced by Carlos Juárez at Basque Films.

Anne de Galard and Eric Garnet’s Paris-based animation company, GO-N Productions, has been acquired by Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan’s fast-growing Federation Studios (formerly known as Federation Entertainment). 

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Animation and Temple Hill have a new original animated movie in the works, Superworld, based on the book series of the same name, created and illustrated by Yarrow and Carrie Cheney. 

Animation Is Film revealed Thursday that its 2023 edition next month will open with Gkids and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron, the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki that just opened the Toronto Film Festival. It is getting its U.S. Imax premiere at TCL’s Chinese 6.

McKinley Franklin editor Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” will open Animation Is Film on Oct. 18 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in the festival’s first IMAX premiere, the organization announced Thursday. The Animation Is Film Festival, sponsored by Variety, will run from Oct.