Events

ANIMATION BUSINESS CONFERENCE

ANIMATION BUSINESS CONFERENCE, BETWEEN POST BREXIT AND FINANCING

By Andrea De Amicis

At the end of 2020 the Children’s Media Conference team organized the Animation Business Conference, a day of webinars that explored the development and funding of animation projects.

Speakers at the webinar webinar Brexit and Beyond

The Children’s Media Conference recently organized the Animation Business Conference (ABC), a day of webinars dedicated to the animation business. The main focus was on exploring the development and funding of animation projects, both in the UK and internationally.

The Brexit and Beyond webinar, moderated by writer Chris Jarvis, took stock of the changes that will take place in the business, following the enforcement of the new Brexit agreements in January 2021. Anna Mansi of the British Film Institute (BFI) confirmed that English animation would continue to be considered a European cultural product: the current tax breaks and cultural tests on content will not change, and coproductions will continue to be made. The thorniest point, discussed by Phil Dobree of Jellyfish Pictures, concerns the hiring of workers that do not reside in the United Kingdom, as this issue has not been agreed yet. People who did not apply for residence status before December 31, 2020, can now only be hired by obtaining the extremely expensive skilled worker visa.

Despite the difficulties, Dobree is sure that Jellyfish will continue its engagements as they are experiencing a strong demand for content from platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple and Universal, with enough work for at least 2-3 years. Gerry Shirren, Managing Director for Cartoon Saloon, explained that in addition to the European conventions, there are specific agreements between Ireland and the United Kingdom like the MOU, which defines the Common Travel Area (CTA) allowing the Irish to work in the UK. Otherwise, there have been no other changes to the production and sale of goods in both the UK and Ireland. Coproductions can also go ahead if the

Courtesy Creative England

lead company is based in the UK, for example, companies like Cartoon Saloon have ongoing productions with France for Disney UK.

Moses Nyachae of Saffery Champness clarified that there are no advances on the tax change, but for the VAT tax there could be changes based on the various negotiations. He hoped that the tax credit could be raised, which the other webinar experts agree on. Lisa Logan of Simkins LLP focused on legal details. For IPs there will be a more detailed withdrawal agreement and in European trademarks, English rights will be managed independently and separately from other rights. The greatest impact of Brexit is manifested in the voiding of licenses for television broadcasters in Europe, which will lead to the loss of hundreds and hundreds of contracts.

In the What’s the Deal? Webinar, moderator Rosemary Klein of Industry Media talked about how to find funding for creative projects. A great resource in the UK is the Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), funded by the government and managed by the BFI, which supports the creation of high-quality content for young audiences. One project that has benefited from this fund is Odo, a preschool animated series, in which the smallest owl at Forest Camp is determined to prove that despite its size it is as capable as any larger bird. Colin Williams of Sixteen South has announced that with Odo in its final phase of preproduction, he wants to teach children to believe in themselves, and fight the alarming rise in childhood anxiety and channels TG4 (Ireland), S4C (UK) and BBC Alba (UK and Scotland), together with the Irish Language Broadcast of the Northern Ireland Screen. Aardman will manage the distribution.

Marcin Sobczak of the communication agency This Way Publicity, spoke about the importance of developing projects as internationally as possible, carefully planning communication and licensing. He advised creatives to use crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Marcin had great success with the promotion of Loving Vincent, an Oscar-winning, Golden Globe nominated

Sol by Paper Owl Films

depression. Another project which received YACF funding is Sol, an animated short film lasting 28 minutes. It features a child who sets out in search of the light that has gone out in the world, while trying to overcome the pain of his grandmother’s death. Grainne McGuinness of Ireland’s Paper Owl Films commented that the project was produced in Irish and Scottish, and was therefore financed by local Loving Vincent

animated film about Van Gogh. Nick Cavander introduced the agency he is part of, Creative England, which helps freelancers and creative industries find funding within the UK to continue developing their own work, and support film and TV projects. They are interested in investing in animation companies and think they can offer a lot in this sector. They also collaborate with banks to provide a low-interest loan for creative companies, which can range from 7% for more established companies, up to 15% for the riskiest ones, with finance ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 pounds.