DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION
INSIGHTS AND ADVICES TO THE EUROPEAN YOUNG TALENTS
Cartoon Springboard held its 9th edition on October 24th to 26th in Madrid. The event was hosted at the Ateneo to bring up together various young talents and professionals of the animation and related sectors from all over Europe. During 3 days, 24 selected projects were pitched by students and alumni’s of different European animation schools, getting a direct and thoughtful feedback from international animation experts with various background. Beside the live pitches, Cartoon Springboard offered a well curated Masterclass & 3 Keynotes by international professionals who introduced Young Talents with varied issues in our industry.
On Tuesday 24 October, during the opening words, Agnès Bizzaro, Head of content Cartoon Springboard, welcomed everyone and reminded the young talents that they have chosen a unique European event dedicated them to safely pitch their projects and receive various feedbacks they would need in their next steps of their future successes. She reassured the participants that the selected projects were carefully chosen and assigned with the related experts and a fully dedicated chairperson to receive guides on “How to Do a Good Pitch”.
On behalf of the Madrid Region, Nacho Carballo welcomed the participants and shared the opportunities that the Regional Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports offers, which is the best animation development support for series and feature films, plus production support for animation short films and features films.
Ana Julia de Miguel Cabrera, from Madrid City Council, after greeting the participants, acknowledged the importance of hosting Cartoon Springboard in Madrid, which has a direct relation to the resolution of The Madrid City Council, together with Madrid Film Office, playing a strategic role, not only because of its significant cultural side, but also because of boosting talent acquisition in the city.
Carmen Jordan, the Director of Fashion, Habitat, and Cultural Industries of ICEX, Spain Exportation and Investment, as well welcomed the participants of the 9th edition of Cartoon Springboard and shared the main purpose of ICEX which is to promote the internationalization of the Spanish economy and companies and improve their competitiveness, as well as the attraction and promotion of foreign investments in Spain.
THE SESSIONS
The Welcome Words were followed by a Masterclass, “The Creative process as a Vital Process”, held by Carmen Córdoba Gonzalez (La Chula Films) followed by a Q&A session where talents could freely ask questions about Carmen’s personal and professional journey in her carrier in animation industry. The Keynote, “Animation and Social Media”, by Eliza Jäppinen (Visible Realms) was the end of the first afternoon for the general participants.
Wednesday morning, 25 October, the first pitching day of Cartoon Springboard 2023, started with a keynote by Hanna Mouchez, “Why did I found MIAM! Animation “ founder and producer of the French studio and distribution company MIAM! Animation. This keynote was focused on entrepreneurship and purpose.
Mark Taynton, Adult Swim Animation, held the 3rd keynote, on the morning of the last day of the event. Adult Swim’s Head of EMEA, talked to the enduring popularity of global smash hit Rick and Morty on our side of the world and looked ahead to our upcoming slate of premieres and plans for the region.
THE PITCHES
Shortlisted from 61 submissions - a 30% increase over last year’s edition - the 24 selected projects are mostly in their early stages of development. With 7 projects, French animation leads the line-up 5 followed by Spain with 5, Italy and Germany with 3, and Belgium with 2. Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, and Ukraine round up the list with one project each.
In terms of target audience, animation aimed at young adults/adults audiences accounted for almost half of the project’s selection (46%). The rest was divided between projects for family, children 6-9 and children 9-11 audiences, representing 12.5% each, while projects for children 5-7 and teenagers 12-15 represent 8.3% each. In terms of target audience, animation aimed at young adults/adults audiences accounted for almost half of the selection (46%). The rest was divided between projects for family, children 6-9 and children 9-11 audiences, representing 12.5% each, while projects for children 5-7 and teenagers 12-15 represent 8.3% each. Most of the projects presented were in 2D, some were working on 3D and one is supposed to use stop-motion. As topic, 14 projects deal with subjects related to inclusivity, diversity and/or ecology, which is 58% of the projects presented and 7 projects have a female main character.
WHO ATTENDED CARTOON SPRINGBOARD?
Cartoon Springboard has been tagged as a first step before Cartoon Forum and Cartoon Movie co-production events organised annually by CARTOON. In fact, five projects pitched in previous editions of Cartoon Springboard will be presented at Cartoon Forum for animated series, which kicks off on September 19 in Toulouse. Since Cartoon Springboard's first edition in 2015, a total of 190 projects have been presented, of which 13 have been released and over 60 are in active development.
Here is a Throwback to Cartoon Springboard 2023!
THE NEXT EDITION OF CARTOON SPRINGBOARD WILL TAKE PLACE IN MADRID, 29 TO 31 OCTOBER 2024.