Editor

The second Animation Production Day (APD) will take place on May 05 to 06, 2008. More than 40 international producers, distributors, world sales groups and banks are due to take part. Participants will negotiate over 19 feature films from, for example, Germany, France, Spain, Ireland and Denmark with a financing volume of approx. 180 million Euros.
The event was launched last year to create an exclusive international business platform where potential partners could negotiate efficiently and concretely over the financing and possible channels of distribution for individual feature film projects. The one-to-one meetings were developed specifically for this purpose. The number and quality of the projects submitted this year shows that a need has indeed been met.
19 selected animated film projects with international potential will be discussed in intensive individual meetings at the APD. More than 40 participants from Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Hungary, Israel and Bosnia-Herzegovina will be present including for example the German companies scopas medien, MotionWorks and MovieCompany, whose production of the film ”The Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams” - one of the ARDs most successful productions, will begin in 2008. The French Les Armateurs, thanks to ”Kirikou” and ”Les Triplets de Belleville” (Oscar nomination 2003) one of Europes most successful production companies, will be participating with ”Ernest & Celestine” by the internationally successful author Daniel Pennac. Films Action will also be present again. The company secured financing for ”The Wizard of Oz”, budgeted at 22 million Euros, at the APD07 in Stuttgart. Max Howard (former President of Warner Bros. Feature Animation and Senior Vice President of Disney Feature Animation) will be representing the US-American Exodus Film Group. The successful Danish production company A.Film (”Asterix and the Vikings”) and the Irish company Magma, both represented in Germany, will be presenting their projects.
Over the last eight years, the European animated film industry has experienced a boom the like of which has never been seen before. From 1964 to 1998 the industry produced a total of 127 animated feature films – between 1999 and 2007 production totalled 110. Production output has increased by 150% from an annual figure of five animated feature films to more than twelve. A prerequisite for this success is that films are based on a known brand or manage to become a brand themselves. This requires cooperation with strong partners in order that adequate international production and marketing budgets can be secured. The APD takes this development into account.
The APD is hosted by the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film and the fmx – International Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Digital Media. The APD is organised by the Film- & Medienfestival gGmbH and the Institute for Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Film Academy Baden Württemberg in cooperation with Michael Schmetz Mediaconsult.
The complete list of participants and further details are available at www.animationproductionday.de.