Last night in Stuttgart the eighth Animation Production Day, the coproduction and cofinancing market for German and international animation projects hosted by FMX 2014 and ITFS 2014, came to an end. On Friday around 100 participants from ten different countries discussed the 33 projects selected to take part in this year's APD. The total production value of these projects lies in the region of 100 million Euros.
Individually organised one-to-one meetings are at the heart of APD. In around 400 specially tailored meetings, producers, coproduction partners, broadcasters, distributors and investors entered into very detailed discussions about potential collaborations and financing models for the projects. 19 German and 14 international projects from Denmark, Sweden, France, Russia, Poland, Italy and Spain were showcased, of which 14 had transmedia or crossmedia concepts. APD was curated once again this year by Christophe Erbès and Dominique Neudecker.
Thomas Haegele, FMX Conference Chair and co-host of APD said: "APD's high proportion of transmedia and crossmedia projects demonstrates how the event's openness to different formats has matched developments in the market and that we have been on the right track with this from the start."
With its move to Stuttgart's L-Bank, APD responded to the continuing growth in its number of participants and for the first time enjoyed its own separate location within ITFS and FMX.
Orion Ross, Vice President of Content Animation & Digital at the Walt Disney Company said: "This is my first time at APD and it is a really great event. It has a very focused and creative environment and I've met a lot of great people. Compared to other markets, APD has a very structured approach with plenty of time to talk. I’m really happy to be here."
Ulrich Wegenast, Managing Director Programm International Festival of Animated Film and co-host of APD, said: "I'm particularly pleased that we could further integrate APD and the Animation Festival via the 'Stories and Series in the New Castle' event where the German Animation Screenplay Award and the Award for Best Children's Animated Series were presented!"
Dittmar Lumpp, Managing Director Organisation and Finances at ITFS, added: "We've sensed a really positive spirit of optimism this year and we'd like to foster the development of the German industry even further in the future in cooperation with all those involved."
APD opened on Thursday in the Haus der Wirtschaft with the APD conference, entitled this year"Changing Markets – Who Wants What?". In the conference's first section the keynote speakers cast a glance into the future of the media industry and made striking presentations about the new techniques of 'Worldbuildings', ideas for the transmedial conception of projects and for the distribution of content on new media platforms.
The keynote speakers were:
Alex McDowell, Creative Director, USC 5D Institute; Founder & Creative Director, 5D Global Studio
Liz Rosenthal, CEO & Founder, Power to the Pixel
Jan Bonath, Managing Director, My Animation TV
Andy Green, COO & Co-Founder von Distrify
Damien Tromel, Acquisitions and Creative, DreamWorks Animation
In the second section of the conference, German and international broadcasters discussed their animation programming needs, revealing which formats and content for which target groups they are seeking for their channels.
The content briefing sessions were presented by:
Sebastian Debertin, Head of Fiction, Acquisition & Co-Production, KiKA – Der Kinderkanal von ARD und ZDF
Jean-Baptiste Lamotte, Kids 6/12 Animation Manager, France Télévisions
Brigitta Mühlenbeck, Head of Children’s and Family TV, Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (WDR)
Sarah Muller, Head of Acquisitions & Drama Development, CBBC
Karen Mitrega, Head of Children’s Content, SUPER RTL / RTL Disney Television
Orion Ross, Vice President Content Animation & Digital, The Walt Disney Company Ltd
Janine Weigold, Vice President Acquisitions & Development, Nickelodeon Northern Europe
Dr Irene Wellershoff, Head of Fiction, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
www.animationproductionday.de