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A New Power Player in the Global Market: Iryna Kostyuk was Invited to Report on Animagrad at the World Animation and VFX Summit in Los Angeles

On October 30, Iryna Kostyuk (FILM.UA Group), the producer of the animated feature film “MAVKA. The Forest Song” (Animagrad, FILM.UA Group), took part in the panel discussion “New Global Power Players” where she talked about the Animagrad Studio and its animation projects. The panel  opened the 6^th World Animation and VFX Summit organized by the leading international animation periodical Animation Magazine. Among the 49 speakers of the summit, Iryna Kostyuk was the only representative of the Ukrainian film industry.

The panel “New Global Power Players” is intended to introduce new and significant players of the animation industry from other countries, except from the US, which is traditionally considered to be one of the main suppliers of animation hits. Thus, over the past few years, the Ukrainian studio Animagrad, the Hong Kong FUN Union, the Chinese Original Force and the Danish WIL FILM have demonstrated a high level of content, which, with a relatively modest budget, proved its competitiveness. So, the discussion participants will tell how they’ve managed to do this.

“I'm incredibly proud that our efforts in the field of animation have proved to be useful, and we were noted as new power players in the world market. Throughout the last year, we were delivering this message to the European industry: we took part in various industry events, presented projects to a professional audience, and, by the end of the year, we reached the overseas. We have something to show here, in Los Angeles, and we’ll definitely justify the trust of the American organizers of the event,” Iryna Kostyuk shared her impressions.

Except for Iryna Kostyuk, among the panel members will be:

- Christine Brandl, SEO of the Hong Kong FUN Union company, with portfolio including such popular brands as KikoRiki, BabyRiki, and PinCode

- Hollywood film producer Sandra Rabins, who since 2013 has been curating the projects of the Chinese studio Original Force, known for the development of animated films in partnership with major content providers in the US and China (for example, the spin-off “Dragons” to the animated blockbuster “How to Train Your Dragon” for the world’s largest children’s television channel Cartoon Network)

-  The head of the animation direction of the largest Danish film company WIL FILM Irene Sparr (having a portfolio of television series LEGO Star Wars and the animated series LEGO Ninjago, Masters of Spinjitzu nominated for the BAFTA-2015).

The panel “New Power Players in the Global Market” will be moderated by Max Howard, the famous producer and media manager, head of the two independent film companies in Los Angeles, formerly President of Warner Bros. Feature Animation, producer of the films “The Lion King”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, and other classic films by Disney Studios.

This year, the World Animation and VFX Summit will be held for the 6^th time. According to the organizers, the main goal of the event is effective networking: informal communication, acquaintance with the industry leaders, sharing experiences, as well as maintenance of current trends and technologies in the animation and VFX environment. This year, the summit is sponsored by the DreamWorks film company, the media holding Wow Unlimited Media Inc., the international network of television channels Nickelodeon, and other major media corporations. The summit will be held on October 29-31.

FYI. Founded as part of the FILM.UA Group in 2012, today Animagrad Studio is one of the leading animation production companies in Eastern Europe. Its portfolio includes a number of successful projects in 2D and 3D animation technologies, and now the studio develops feature and series animation projects designed for the international market.

The Stolen Princess is the first animated feature film made for the Ukrainian and international distribution in the production line of the animation studio Animagrad. The film is now under production, but the broadcasting rights for it are already pre-sold to more than 30 territories – China, South Korea, France and French-speaking countries, Poland, Bulgaria, Israel, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as countries of the Middle East and North Africa. “The Stolen Princess” won the 9^th State Film Agency Competition, the amount of state funding is about 20% of the total budget.

FYI: Mavka: The Forest Song is a full-length animated feature produced by Ukraine-based Animagrad (FILM.UA Group). It is currently at the concept stage of development. The film is inspired by a play of the same name by Lesya Ukrainka, as well as by various Ukrainian legends and cultural traditions. The film’s production crew includes experts from leading ethnography institutes: the Ukrainian Studies Center at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Ivan Honchar Museum, and the Ukrainian Fashion Museum. The experts are there to ensure the authenticity of the Ukrainian myths and legends, religious beliefs, rituals, and visual culture translated into the singular animated world of Mavka. And the world-renowned group

In October 2017, a partnership agreement was signed with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The cooperation is planned in two directions: consultations for the creative team of the film “MAVKA. The Forest Song” concerning the flora and fauna of the Polissya Region, as well as the implementation of joint environmental projects.

DakhaBrakha has already committed to creating the film’s soundtrack.

In September 2016, the animated feature Mavka: The Forest Song won the ninth contest held by the Ukrainian State Film Agency and was awarded state financing in the amount of 30% of the film’s total budget. In March 2017, the animated feature was the first to represent Ukraine at the animation forum Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, where it was highly appreciated by the European professional audience. And in May of the same year, the producers presented the project with great success at the largest international animation business forum Cartoon 360 in Barcelona.

Mavka: The Forest Song is scheduled for release in Ukraine in 2019.

FILM.UA Group (Ukraine) is a creative powerhouse and one of the largest Eastern European media groups, operating in global markets and covering the full production cycle: development, production, adaptation and distribution of audiovisual content through the vertical business structure.

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