Vicky Schroderus, Federica Pazzano, and Irene Pothecary-Huse
The second day of Cartoons On the Bay 2025 spotlighted the co-production possibilities between Italy and the Nordic countries in a virtual co-production event held in collaboration with Cartoon Italia and moderated by Gun Akyuz, from C21 Media. Alessandra Principini, Vice President at Cartoon Italia and Fundraiser at Movimenti Production, and Tehri Väänänen, CEO and co-founder of Pyjama Films from Finland, provided an overview of the funding and tax incentive systems for animation and kids’ content in Italy and the Nordic region. Both companies have collaborated on the animated co-production Belzebub.
“There is a chance that we can produce with the Nordics,” said Principini. She gave an overview of the animation system in Italy, which is mostly based on co-productions and has specific requirements to access public funds. Italy has an annual cinema and audiovisual fund totaling €696,034,750. “We have €42 million for foreign works, which means that the Italian producer doesn't own any rights to the product, and we have tax credits for projects where Italy is an official co-producer, both for TV and cinema,” she explained. The tax credit rate is 40% in both cases—whether for a foreign animation project or for Italian/co-produced works.
“In addition to that, of course, we have selective funds (€8.8 million) and automatic funds, which are very important new incentives for Italy. These funds mean that if you have had some economic or artistic success with previous work, you receive a sort of virtual incentive that, if reinvested in a new project, becomes a real one,” she added.
She also referred to a new decree Italy launched last year that redefined the tax credit. “With the new decree, animation has specific requirements that apply to works released theatrically or exploited on TV and online. Animation itself is a genre recognized by the ministry and has specific requirements,” she stressed. She further explained that the decree introduces measures to better rationalize funding. “There is also more transparency now, because we need to declare what services we provide, what students are doing. So there's a kind of rationalization of funds to make the entire animation sector more transparent,” she explained.
Tehri Väänänen, a member of the Nordic Association—which includes production companies from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland—gave an overview of the Nordic financing landscape for Italian producers seeking a minority co-producer in the region. “In Finland, the animation industry is quite lively. We have some major studios in 3D and 2D, and there is a Finnish Film Foundation that supports minority co-productions. It’s only about one million euros per year, but you can get up to €300,000 per production, and you don’t need to pay anything back,” she said.
“We have pretty good production incentive systems in place—we call them tax rebates, which are basically tax credits, but the system is a little bit different—it’s 25%. There are some requirements, including a high minimum spending of about €1 million. The budget has to be high—around €11,500 per annum. But it works quite well. It’s not selective, though it has a limited budget,” she explained. “We also have pretty good regional funding opportunities,” she added.
Väänänen also briefly mentioned fiscal incentives in other Nordic countries. Norway, for instance, is a significant producer of 3D features and also has the Norwegian Film Institute, which supports minority co-productions of feature films, documentaries, series, short films, and video games. “They support feature films with €330,000 for projects with a €1 million budget, and producers don’t need to pay it back,” she said.
Sweden excels in VFX and has established animation studios. “They have special requirements—50% of the main producer’s funding must be in place before applying. They’ve also created an evaluation system on their website and have a repayment percentage,” she detailed.
In Denmark, the animation industry is thriving. They have an excellent animation school and several feature film studios. “They also produce a lot of animated feature films and some series. The Danish Film Institute supports projects—not series, but other formats,” Väänänen stated. Denmark has an annual budget of €1.6 million. “You need a Danish distributor or broadcaster to be on board,” she added.
In Iceland, minority co-productions are supported by the Icelandic Film Center. “You need a distributor. They have a graded evaluation, but not many other requirements,” she explained. In conclusion, all Nordic countries support minority co-productions. “You can approach Nordic producers and broadcasters with your project, and you can access some funding from the Nordic region—if you’re lucky to find a partner and a distributor,” Väänänen concluded.
FOCUS: THE NORDIC REGION
During this session, Vicky Schroderus, Senior Executive of International Co-Productions & Acquisitions at YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company), and Irene Pothecary-Huse, Head of Children’s and Young Adults Acquisitions at NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), presented recent animation and children’s content production in the Nordic region.
Schroderus noted that YLE Kids has two main brands: Tiny 2 and BUU Klubben for ages 0 to 6, and Galaxy and Watt for ages 7 to 12. “Our main focus at the moment is FVOD,” she said. Regarding co-productions, YLE recently released "Royals Next Door" with Gigglebug, "Momolu and Friends" with Ferly, and "Best & Bester" with Gigglebug. “One of the latest productions was our Nordic Christmas specials—short films about Christmas themes produced in all Nordic countries, based on books by beloved children’s authors,” she said.
YLE Kids is also developing a comedy series called "Dragonslayer" (26x11') about a 14-year-old boy who wants to be the biggest and best gamer in the world. “The target audience is 7+, but I think it will be really interesting,” she noted. “I’ll probably ask for co-production partners very soon,” she anticipated. Schroderus also highlighted new YLE live-action shows like "True/Fake", "It’s All Super Normal", and "Bro", all targeting the 7+ audience. “The main focus has been on really showcasing them on our VOD platform,” she said.
Pothecary-Huse mentioned that NRK produced the original version of "Skam", which has gained global success. “There is a Skam in Italy as well, and we are quite proud of that,” she said. Pothecary-Huse works with a wide audience, from ages 0 to 19. “It’s quite a broad span, and we have a huge variety of content,” she noted. “We understand young people’s needs, we spend time on social media, and we also have focus groups,” she revealed.
She gave a quick overview of shows like "Team Pølsa" and "BlimE", as well as a variety of acquisitions aimed at the 0–19 audience, sourced from around the world, alongside in-house productions such as "Fantus Musikantus", "Badebussen", "URSA and the Northern Lights", and "Hellerudsvingen". “NRK is the biggest player in the Norwegian market, apart from YouTube,” the executive asserted.
Regarding co-production strategies, Pothecary-Huse said NRK is currently working on a new strategy, while Schroderus confirmed that YLE continues to co-produce within the Nordic region and is now looking beyond. “We are now looking for ideas from Finland, specifically, obviously. And when students bring in some kind of minority co-production ideas, we will take a look at them as well,” she stated.
By Romina Rodriguez from Pescara