Canada showcases animation expertise at MIFA

Canada’s animation industry will have unprecedented exposure at this year’s edition of the International Animation Film Market (MIFA), June 15 to 17, part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France, where 45 Canadian production companies will showcase the quality and diversity of their projects to over 8,000 industry leaders from around the world. An initiative led by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada brings together seven provincial media development organisations and industry associations in what is the first large-scale, concerted effort between national and provincial agencies to promote Canadian productions at this renowned international animation market.

For the first time, Telefilm; the CMF; the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC); the Canadian Media Producers Association, B.C. Branch; Creative B.C.; On Screen Manitoba; the Quebec Film and Television Council; Manitoba Film and Music; and the Ontario Media Development Corporation and have joined forces to develop a promotional mission under the Canada Pavilion at MIFA. This initiative will offer an added visibility to Canadian production companies, while underscoring the importance of the Canadian animation sector. Additional expertise was provided by Vancouver Economic Development.

Canadian production companies specialized in animation have garnered the attention of industry leaders around the world. Several Canadian productions have received international acclaim and prestigious awards such as Daytime Emmy Awards and Kidscreen Awards. In 2015, Canadian animation productions represented a significant portion of the content industry, with up to $219 M in production volume. Canadian know-how and quality in animation production has resulted in robust international sales in the genre, which amounted to $201M in 2015 alone.

A new Canada Pavilion will serve as a hub for meetings for the first time at MIFA, and will leverage the “Canada brand” value. In addition to the Pavilion and networking activities spearheaded by the Canadian delegation, a session hosted by Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm, and Stéphane Cardin, CMF’s Vice President of Industry and Public Affairs, will focus on Canada and give producers the opportunity to further showcase their projects. Canada: Spotlight on creativity, diversity and innovation will be moderated by Kidscreen Editor and Content Director, Lana Castleman.

The session will kick-off with a panel discussion on coproducing with Canada featuring François Trudel, Executive Producer and Vice-President of International Affairs Groupe PVP (Canada); Marc Dhrami, Head of Production Financing, Gaumont Animation (France); and Peter Viska, Producer and director, Viskatoons Animation (Australia).

Featured projects at this session also include, Window Horses a partnership between the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Vancouver’s Stickgirl Productions, led by Ann-Marie Fleming and Michael Fukushima; Ozzy, a production by Ken Zorniak and Phyllis Laing of Tangent Animation, based in Winnipeg and Toronto; Elemented by Archita Ghosh and Emily Paige of Montreal’s E.D. Films; Mission Kathmandu, a 10th Ave Productions project led by Nancy Florence Savard of Quebec City; and Fated presented by Valérie Hénaire, Vice President of Intellectual Property, from Quebec City’s Frima Studios

Canadian animation in the spotlight at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival
Canada is also well represented at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Canadian feature films Window Horses, Stickgirl Productions/NFB, Vancouver; and Snowtime! (La Guerre des tuques 3D), CarpeDiem Film et TV, Montreal, are among the official selection of productions in the running for the Annecy 2016 Awards. Louise en hiver, a France-Canada coproduction between Unité Centrale, Montreal, and JPL Films, Rennes, France, has been selected for a special festival screening event. Furthermore, six Canadian short films are also nominated and one Canadian graduation film is in the running. More information on the Annecy International Animation Film Festival can be found here.

For more information on Canada’s presence at MIFA, please visit canada-mifa2016.ca.

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