Programme in 2011
Monday 17 October
13:00 LUNCH with all participants
14:15 - 14:30 WELCOME WORDS
14:30 – 15:15 MEDIA PRODUCTION GUARANTEE FUND
Endowed with 8 MEUR from 2010-2013, the MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund aims at supporting the European film industry by facilitating credit access to private sources of financing. It also guarantees part of the loan given to producers by financial institutions. IFCIC in France and Audiovisual SGR in Spain will each administer the Fund with the European Commission. Florence Aviles from IFCIC France will detail practical conditions of access to this Fund.
Speaker: Florence Avilès, IFCIC/MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund
Moderator: Mike Robinson
15:15 – 17:30 CROWDFUNDING - A NEW WAY TO FINANCE FILMS
To supplement traditional film funding methods, and "gap" finance your film, crowdfunding is emerging as a hybrid money-raising model. Examples of film-raising up to 900 000€ can be accounted for and a number of successful crowdfunding Internet platforms are available. NewFaceFilm is one of them and Director Pino Foris will explain how you can partially fund and promote your films through this innovative method.
Speaker: Pino Foris, NewFaceFilm
Moderator: Mike Robinson
16:15 - 16:45 COFFEE BREAK
19:30 WELCOME DINNER AT PAULANER IM TAL
Tuesday 18 October
9:30 – 10:30 ADVENTURES IN DEVELOPMENT - HOW THE IDEA BECOMES THE FINAL DRAFT SCRIPT
Richelle Wilder from Script Matters, has headed screenplay and story development at Aardman Animation, worked with Dreamworks and headed Development at Pathe.
From story analysis, character development, script editing…, the long road to final script approval is sometimes shortened to the detriment of the story. Some expert advice by a script specialist on why and how you can develop the best story for your film.
10:30 - 11:00 COFFEE BREAK
11:00 – 11:45 MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTING FILMS FOR CINEMA THEATRES
Gebeka Films is co-producer and distributor of quality films for children and families audiences. With over 60 animation titles in its catalogue, Gebeka is probably the biggest European indie distributor of animated films. Marc Bonny, founder of Gebeka is also a cinema owner in direct contact with the public. Marc will detail in his presentation what he looks for in a film, how far his involvement can go and marketing strategies for some of his films on the French market.
Speaker: Marc Bonny, Gebeka Films
Moderator: Paco Rodríguez
11:45 – 12:30 CO-PRODUCING WITH GERMANY
The largest populated country in Europe, Germany enjoys an enviable range of animation training schools, talent and production companies as well as strong film financial support from the Federal and Regional Bodies. To reach this significant market, Michaela Haberlander, from FFF Bayern will detail how a non-German producer can enter into a co-production deal with Germany, detailing both Regional and Federal funding available.
Moderator: Mike Robinson
12:30 – 13:15 PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY
Ubisoft Motion Pictures will explain why Ubisoft, the worldwide game leader in development and publishing has created this new movie company and its strategy for adapting its successful franchises into films, its partnership with Steven Spielberg on the Tintin Game, their more personal projects and their interest in meeting European animation production companies.
Speaker: Frédéric Thonet, Ubisoft Motion Pictures
Moderator: Paco Rodríguez
13:15 - 14:30 LUNCH with all participants
14:30 – 15:15 CASE STUDY ON WRINKLES - A 2M EUR FILM FOR ADULT-ORIENTED AUDIENCES
Quoted by the Hollywood Reporter as “exceptional” and as “one of the most accomplished Spanish films, from any genre, of recent years”. Hailed at the San Sebastian Film Festival last September, Wrinkles is a 2D animated feature adapted from the award-winning graphic novel of the same name and co-produced by 2 Spanish production companies, Perro Verde Films and Cromosoma. The film is directed by Ignacio Ferreras and shows that with a tight budget but clear ideas you can achieve your goal.
15:15 – 16:00 PREPARING FOR FILM MARKETS AND FINDING THE BEST SALES AGENT
Irina Ignatiew, EVP International at Telepool GmbH, will explain from a domestic and international perspective where the animation market stands at the moment. She will define her role as sales agent/distributor and in particular how she handles relationships with producers/projects and distribution.
16:00 - 16:30 COFFEE BREAK
16:30 – 17:15 INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY
With over 300 million Angry Birds game downloads, Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish-based entertainment company has developed an innovative strategy towards its franchise going from touchscreen smartphones to social gaming, merchandising, publishing… One of its latest developments includes a unique integration between Angry Birds and the 20th Century Fox animated feature "Rio" released last Spring. Details of this partnership.
Speaker: Nick Dorra, Rovio Entertainment
Moderator: Paco Rodríguez
FREE EVENING
Wednesday 19 October
09:15 – 10:00 CASE STUDY ON A LOW-BUDGET FILM: MARCO MACACO
To be released next Summer 2012, Marco Macaco is a CG animated comedy financed for less than 2.5 M EUR, targeting a family and international audience. Thomas Borch Nielsen, producer at Nice Ninja, will explain how great animation can be achieved despite a smaller budget. Topics, among others, will be: the producers' bicycle, your most critical asset: the expresso machine, design your way out of it, special forces and the importance of a good Friday bar. Marco Macaco is distributed in Scandinavia by SF-Film, and sold internationally by Sola Media.
10:00 – 10:45 NEW POWERFUL AND EMERGING ACTORS IN CINEMA
Christian will talk of the new powerful actors on the web like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Google, Apple and how their new strategies can impact on the ways animated films and series are financed.
Speaker: Christian Davin, Christian Davin Production
Moderator: Mike Robinson
10:45 - 11:15 COFFEE BREAK
11:15 - 12:15 PROMOTING FILMS THROUGH VIRAL MARKETING AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
With the increased number of animated films being released and the multiplicity of distribution channels, the marketing of films has evolved to encompass the audience’s new habits. Tobias Bauckhage will inform participants of new and changing consumers’ trends and how to best serve the promotion and launch of a film through the Internet and social networks.
Speaker: Ingke Weimert, Moviepilot
Moderator: Mike Robinson
12:15 - 13:00 CASE STUDY ON A MONSTER IN PARIS - A CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN EUROPACORP AND WALKING THE DOG
Europacorp, French production and distribution major is producing a slate of CG animated movies with international ambitions. Released in October 2011 and budgeted at 25 M EUR, A Monster in Paris is co-produced with Walking the Dog, a high end Belgian production company with already a few animated movies in its catalogue. Eric Goossens, his co-creator and producer, will explain how they worked with a major from a creative, financial and production perspective.
13:00 - 14:30 LUNCH with all participants
14:30 - 15:15 CASE STUDY ON "MOON MAN"
MOON MAN is a 2-D animation feature adapted from Tomi Ungerer's book, a co-production between Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Le Pacte (France) and Schesch Filmkreation (Germany). Stephan Schesch is the writer, director, producer and will report on his journey from earth to moon and back, in other words from script to production. Not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
15:15 - 15:45 COFFEE BREAK
15:45 – 16:45 CASE STUDY ON "THE RABBI'S CAT"
Winner of the Crystal at Annecy 2011, the Rabbi's Cat is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Joann Sfar. It has been co-directed by both the author and Antoine Delesvaux, who will talk of his work with Sfar and film direction.
19:30 FAREWELL DINNER
