GLOBAL DEMAND FOR SHORT CONTENT IS GROWING

ANDREA IERVOLINO, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF IERVOLINO & LADY BACARDI ENTERTAINMENT AND IERVOLINO STUDIOS; LADY MONIKA BACARDI, CO-FOUNDER OF IERVOLINO & LADY BACARDI ENTERTAINMENT AND IERVOLINO STUDIOS

Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment (ILBE) and Iervolino Studios (IES) have been setting new standards of innovation in the entertainment industry in Serbia since their very arrival. After just two years, they’ve achieved great results and built a team of more than 100 exceptional creatives, which is a better result than in any other country where they do business

This duo of Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi thinks that Serbia and its creatives have everything it takes to be successful: talent, passion and imagination, which they say are deeply ingrained in our country’s culture and tradition, helping these artists tell strong, memorable stories that will leave a mark in the years to come.

Speaking from your rich experience as a Hollywood producer, what do you think the future of entertainment will look like?

Andrea: The everyday routines and habits of viewers have changed drastically during the last couple of years. Their attention-span is getting shorter, therefore relevant and high-quality content, whether in the fields of entertainment, art, education or sales, “packaged” in a short and easily accessible form, is something the audience is particularly attached to. On the other hand, demand for content is growing, which is proven by the expansion of highquality series on streaming platforms in the “up to 30 minutes” category.

What makes Serbia so special?

Monika: From the very beginning, we had only the highest of expectations and a lot of faith, but I have to say that the results we achieved after only two years surprised me, too. Every start is hard, especially when it happens in the midst of a pandemic, and we certainly had some ups and downs along the way, but it was worth it. The result is a team of more than 100 exceptional creatives, better than in any other country where we do business. What makes them unique is their great devotion and eagerness to learn new skills and techniques that they maybe haven’t had the chance to see or use before, but also great talent and creative potential. Being able to create content intended for distribution on leading global platforms from their own city and country, for the first time ever, sparks this special kind of creativity and innovation in them, and that is indeed a beautiful thing to witness.

The first “product” of IES is the animated short series Puffins Impossible. How many episodes have been created so far and where can they be watched at present?

Andrea: By the end of 2021 we’d created 54 episodes of the series, produced by Archangel Digital Studios, which is owned by our great friend Miloš Biković, and with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia. Starting from April this year, the first 18 episodes are available for streaming on leading global platforms – Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Chilli TV and TaTaTu, making them accessible to millions of people all around the world. However, we wish to double the number of episodes created in 2022 – somewhere between 80 and 100, and we are already on the right track to achieve that.

How about other formats, besides short ones? Will we talk about the first Iervolino Studios feature film this time next year?

Monika: Plans for doing that are definitely there and in motion – we have a lot of exciting new projects ahead of us and we can’t wait to talk about them in more detail in the period ahead.

CELEBRATING TWO SUCCESSFUL YEARS

Every great film or TV series starts with a great story and, very often, with a sequence of unexpected events that ultimately turn out to be fortuitous. And that’s precisely how the story of Serbia-based animation company Iervolino Studios (IES) started: from co-founder Andrea Iervolino being stuck in Belgrade during the first months of the pandemic and his brave decision to start his business here, to a studio which, just two years later, employs more than 100 creative professionals in uniquely designed studios in Belgrade and Novi Sad, equipped with top-notch technology

With its main focus on creating high-quality short animated content, the studio recently announced that the first 18 of 54 completed episodes of the animated series Puffins Impossible, created at IES and produced by Archangel Digital Studios, are available to watch on leading streaming platforms, such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Chilli TV and TaTaTu.

Over a period of just two years, this project has achieved something that was difficult to even imagine: the work of Serbian artists and creative professionals can now reach millions of people worldwide. What makes this series even more special is the fact that Johnny Depp gives his voice to the main character, while he also officially opened the studio in Belgrade last October.

“We are very proud of the fact that the animated series that’s available on the leading streaming platforms is signed by Serbian artists. Our teams in Belgrade and Novi Sad have done a great job and confirmed that we are a talented, adaptive, and fast-growing community that’s always ready to inspire others, learn and progress. We will continue to further expand our team and our business in the years to come,” says Iervolino Studios Local Country Manager Dragan Nikolić, adding that IES is already working on new creative projects for global distribution, as well as on developing tailored content to meet the needs of specific users and clients in Serbia.

Another important step for IES during the previous period was the opening of the IES Internal Training Center, which is dedicated to educating all interested current and future creative professionals through specialised workshops and courses covering the fields of animation, film and special effects (VFX) that are led by renowned local and international experts.

“With its final goal of contributing to the development of the animation industry in Serbia, as well as building and supporting the local creative community, our training center is an educational platform for professionals wishing to enhance their existing creative skills. What’s more, it provides a chance for the most talented students to start their careers at IES after completing the course,” says Iervolino Studios Head of Marketing and Communications Anđelka Janković.

IES has even bigger plans to implement by the end of 2022: completing five seasons of the Puffins Impossible series, hiring more skilled professionals, opening a brand-new department alongside its current VFX and post-production departments, as well as launching numerous new projects, particularly in the field of education.