35th anniver­sary

This year marks the 35th edition of Cartoon Forum, and we're celebrating in style!

Our incredible journey began at Villa Medici (Rome) in November 1989, where 50 representatives from across Europe gathered to explore the idea of an annual event where producers could pitch their animated TV projects to broadcasters.

Since then, Cartoon Forum has grown tremendously:

  • Held in 22 different destinations across Europe, from Lanzarote (1990) to Toulouse (since 2012)
  • Participants have increased from 200 to nearly 1,000 in 2024
  • Buyers have expanded from 40 to around 260 in 2024
  • 1,002 projects secured financing, with a total budget of 3.7 billion EUR

Some great evolutions across the years:

  • The gap between men and women taking part in Cartoon Forum has narrowed since 2016 (53% men and 46% women), reaching near-parity in 2024 (49.2% women and 50.4% men).
  • The number of co-production projects has risen sharply, from 6% of selected projects in 1990 to 42% in 2024, and marked by a rapid increase after the 2008 banking crisis (15% in 2007; 46% in 2009).

An edition brimming with excitement: check out the photos from the Surprise Pitch Event that took place on Thursday!