Gruppo Alcuni ends the first edition of Cartoon Artist course

Gruppo Alcuni announces the completion ceremony of the first edition of Cartoon Artist 2022 course, that will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at Istituto Pavoniano Artigianelli in Trento. The event will showcase the extraordinary work done by the 14 graduating students, including a preview of the animated series "Gateway 66", (26x6') set at MUSE, the Science Museum and co-produced by Gruppo Alcuni and Rai Kids, in collaboration with the Trentino region.

Participants will include Mirko Bisesti, Provincial Councillor for Education, Universities and Culture; Erik Gadotti, director of Istituto Artigianelli (where the course was held); Francesco and Sergio Manfio, founders of Gruppo Alcuni and creators of the course; Antonella Barbieri, APA (Italian Association of Audiovisual Producers) General Director and Barbara Tassini APA administrative director; Michele Lanzinger director of MUSE, the Trento Science Museum.

Councillor Bisesti commented: "I am proud of this advanced training course run by Istituto Artigianelli in partnership with Trentino Film Commission, Gruppo Alcuni and Green Ink Animation. We know that it has been very successful and enrollments are already open for next year's edition; after all, the animation market, is growing tremendously in Italy too, and highly specialized profiles are increasingly in demand. The course that has just ended is a new opportunity that the Trentino region makes available to our young people, the result of a synergy between training, research and innovation, able to offer real job prospects."

Wednesday's event will also see the launch of the new Cartoon Artist course, which will kick off in February 2023. Applications for the course are open until December 19, 2022. The course consists of 1,000 hours: 500 hours of lectures, 200 hours of hands-on animation practice, and a 300-hour internship at one of the following major Italian animation production companies: Gruppo Alcuni, Green Ink Animation, and Melazeta. The course is taught at Istituto Artigianelli in partnership with Trentino Film Commission, Green Ink Animation, Gruppo Alcuni and APA, chaired by Giancarlo Leone.

Francesco Manfio, Executive Producer of Gruppo Alcuni, says: "At Gruppo Alcuni we are thrilled that our idea turned into this course, and we are even happier that five young women and men who just graduated will - thanks to the skills they acquired - be joining our production studio in December this year. We think that this, alone, is a testimony to the quality of the work done by Cartoon Artist, which produced 14 new professionals in the field."

Sergio Manfio, creative director of Gruppo Alcuni, adds, "I am particularly pleased that animation techniques were not the only focus of the course, but that we ensured that the curriculum was well-rounded so that the students were also trained in the creative and production processes that underlie the creation of an animated product."

Antonella Barbieri, APA General Director: "The Italian Association of Audiovisual Producers congratulates those involved for the tangible results of this first edition of the course. We are proud to be here and happy to announce that we will be joining as a partner for the next edition to support this initiative which adds new people to our growing industry."

Cartoon Artist is the only technical higher education course in Italy entirely devoted to animation that awards a diploma accredited by the Italian ministry of education. It is also the only course during which participants have a chance to work on the production of a TV programme. The course was taught by some of Gruppo Alcuni's outstanding animation professionals - Fabio Testa, Andrea Martin, Federico Guidi, Alberto Alvoni, Angelo Feltrin - who enthusiastically shared their expertise to help train the young animators.