The next generation of European talent is gearing up to make a leap forward at the 10th anniversary of Cartoon Springboard—a pitchfest for students and recent grads to present their films and series.
Aimed at helping new talent break into Europe’s animation industry, the event takes place in Madrid from October 29 to 31. Heading to the pitchfest are 22 projects and more than 170 broadcasters, distributors and other participants. Most of the concepts being pitched skew to kids ages five to 11 (27%), preschoolers (18%) and families (18%). The rest are aimed at YA/adults (23%) and teens (14%).
Six of the projects hail from Spain, followed by France (five), Germany (three), Belgium (two) and Italy (two), while Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary and Ireland have one each.
Five of the films and series already have a production company attached—increasing their chances of getting made—and most of these are kids and family projects, including Bernard & the Little Tiger (pictured, Wait a Second!, Germany), preschool show Ultra Cat and Mega Dog (JAM Media, Ireland), Galiworld (Henfunk Studio, Spain) and a 72-minute feature film called Painting Illusions (PI Art Produccions, Spain). France’s Avec ou Sans Vous will also be showcasing its YA series Tulip (20 x 1.5 minute episodes).
The students pitching their projects come from animation schools across Europe, including Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain), Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografía (Italy) and La Poudrière (France).
A total of 236 projects have been selected to pitch at the Cartoon Springboard event since it launched in 2015, and 14 of those have been completed. Another 80 series and films are in development as a result of the pitchfest.
Industry experts will view the projects and give feedback, with the aim of helping the young creatives develop their concepts. The veterans sharing their thoughts include Sarah Muller (BBC), Yago Fandiño (RTVE), Joaquín Garralda (Amazon MGM Studios) and Naléka N’Guessan (France Télévisions).
Beyond being a place for young talent to pitch, Cartoon Springboard also lets studios tell the fledgling creatives more about themselves and outline potential job opportunities. There are also networking sessions and a conference program featuring talks about AI, distribution and developing original IP.
This marks the third time that Madrid has been chosen to host the event, supported by Creative Europe—MEDIA, the Community of Madrid, the Institute for Foreign Trade (commonly known as ICEX) and the City Council of Madrid.
