Agnès Bizzaro
This year Cartoons on the Bay (COTB), the International Festival of Animation, Transmedia and Meta-Arts promoted by Rai and organized by Rai Com hassealed a fruitful partnership with CARTOON – European Association of Animation film, an international non-profit association that supports the animation industry by organising several events dedicated to animation professionals. "I'm so happy about this new partnership between Cartoon and Cartoons on the Bay," commented Agnès Bizzaro, Head of Content of Cartoon Springboard. "It was a great experience, and I really enjoyed connecting with all the people at COTB, and I'm really looking forward to continuing with this partnership", she said.
The alliance allows to the winner of the Pitch Me! contest, that has taken place in COTB, (this year "No Pets!" from Ivana Murianni and Alice Gambara) to participate directly in Cartoon Springboard. "The project will be pitched at Cartoon Springboard that will be held in Madrid from October 24th to 26th," she anticipated. "We are looking for new Italian projects from young talents, and it was a good opportunity to know them on Cartoons on the Bay," she added.
Pitch Me! contest 2023 edition had three winners. Third place went to "Il regufio per fantasmi de Spectris", while second place was chosen for the web series "Racconti dallo Stream" and first place went to "No Pets!". "I liked the diversity of the projects and their quality. They're very diverse, with different subjects, that it's what we need, friendship, diversity, inclusion, black humour and entertainment, they are very important today," noted Agnès Bizzaro.
Cartoon Springboard is a pitching event totally dedicated to young talents in animation to level up skills from industry and animation players. "We select 22 projects every year coming from all over Europe, in all formats, genres, and for all targets, from preschool to young adult titles," she explained. "The professionals from the animation world must attend the event because it's a place to discover new voices, new stories and to connect with the new generation of animators in Europe, and it's very important for us to stick together, work together and to know what's happening in the others countries," she mentioned.