Ukrainian delegates
At the beginning of March, the 25th-anniversary co-production forum for animated feature films Cartoon Movie 2023 was held in France. More than 20 representatives of the country's animation studios Animagrad, Avtoritetstudio, Lisenbart Film, Sun Stories, Studio KAPI, Chervoniy Sobaka, YARKI, joined the Forum as part of the Ukrainian delegation; 6 up-and-coming professionals represented the country's animation sector in the Young Talents section.
The participation of seven Ukrainian animation studios and six young talents within the Cartoon Movie forum took place due to the support of USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine and was organized by Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival LINOLEUM in cooperation with Media Resources Management (MRM) company.
In total, Ukrainian delegates held about 70 meetings, where they discussed the possibilities of partnership or co-production, international distribution, the potential of ready-made and future Ukrainian animation projects in different territories of the world. The participants of the Young Talents section discussed the possibilities of studying abroad, involving students in the production of animation and educational practice.
"Such representations of the industry are essential for the sustainability and development of the creative sector of Ukraine. After all, there are prejudices among the international community regarding the work of Ukrainian studios during the war. Our task is to tell how exactly the studios and artists secured production, took servers abroad, arranged uninterrupted power sources, and established remote work processes. Powerful full-length film projects are going through the development stage, despite the limited possibilities of state support, and the studios are counting on service orders," said Alla Prelovska, International Project Manager at Media Resources Management.
“Ukrainian animation has proven competitive on the world stage and continues to win over the hearts of people worldwide with bright and meaningful works. Development of the industry has numerous advantages for Ukraine, as it can be the tool of cultural diplomacy and promote the image of Ukraine as a creative country. Through animated stories we can tell the world about rich Ukrainian culture, poets, tradition, garments, as it was realized in the animated film Mavka. The Program USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine supported the presentation of Ukrainian animation at the Cartoon Movie and will continue to support creative industry,” said Olesya Zaluska, Chief of Party in USAID Competitive Economy Program.
Ukrainian animation projects that were presented during Cartoon Movie received excellent reviews from representatives of the professional community. In particular, the project of the Animagrad studio "Roxelana", which is currently under development, was successfully presented within the official pitching program and aroused considerable interest from buyers and other Forum participants. In addition, the event included a special screening of the long-awaited full-length cartoon "Mavka: The Forest Song" which is already breaking all box office records in Ukraine.