Copenhagen, Denmark-based INTERACTIVE TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT has named PREBEN HENRICHSEN to the newly-created position of promotion and new business manager. He was previously sales and marketing manager for the broadcaster Kanal2/TV Denmark.
Paris, France-based SALSA DISTRIBUTION has hired XAVIER GONZÁLES DEL VALLE as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs between executives in Latin America and Europe.Paris, France-based SALSA DISTRIBUTION has hired XAVIER GONZÁLES DEL VALLE as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs between executives in Latin America and Europe.
Sydney, Australia-based independent producer and distributor Energee Entertainment Pty Ltd., producers of the animated series Crocadoo, has acquired two cartoon series from the 1960s to sell to the nostalgia niche market. Clutch Cargo follows the seaplane travel adventures of Clutch and his friends Spinner and Paddlefoot, and Space Angel follows the intergalactic adventures of law enforcer Scott McCloud from the Earth Bureau of Investigation. Both are contained in half-hour episodes which can also be shown as five-minute daily strips or used as fillers.
New York-based 4 Kids Entertainment is bringing the popular Japanese animated series "Pokémon" to the international market. The show started in U.S. syndication in September, and is signed to appear on Italy's MediaSet network, Australia's Channel 10, Mexico's Televisa, Canada's YTV and Brazil's Globo TV.
One year ago, CANAL + Distribution launched KIDS + to handle international sales of its more than 800 hours of children's programming. Kids + has since sold programming to Italy's Disney Channel Italy and RAI, Germany's Super RTL, Ireland's RTE, Switzerland's Television Suisse-Romande and France's France 3. Kids +'s new animation being launched at MIPCOM this year includes a feature-length version of "Trouble With Sophie," as well as new episodes of "Fennec" and "Blazing Dragons."
* Tuesday, October 6. London, England, U.K.
The Museum of the Moving Image's lunch time lecture series, "First Tuesdays" showcases 70 years of animated advertising from J. Walter Thompson. From 1 to 2 p.m., Chris Bardsley, creative director for the agency will lecture on the company's history of animated commercials, from George Pal's puppet works to the latest CGI spots for Smarties and stop-motion spots for Dairylea. Tickets are £2.50 each. For information call (44) 171 815 1339.
Bonjourno, Mickey! The Italian version of THE DISNEY CHANNEL will begin broadcast on October 3, launching with the country's first TV broadcast of the animated feature, "The Lion King." All programming will be dubbed in Italian. The channel is being transmitted daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, as part of a digital bouquet of channels offered by Telepiu. Disney Channel Italy is headquartered in Milan and headed up by vice president and managing director Janet Scardino. The former Sunbow Entertainment VP joined the company in March 1998.
NICKELODEON plans to launch a 24-hour version of its network in Russia, per a recently-signed agreement with Metromedia International Group. Programming will consist of Russian-language dubbed U.S. shows such as "Rugrats." This will be Nickelodeon's sixth territory-specific network, following existing channels in Australia, Latin America, the Nordic countries, Turkey and the U.K.
Every year since 1991, the organization CARTOON, with the support of the MEDIA program of the European Union, selects one short European animated film as the "Cartoon D'Or," or "best European animation film." This year's winner, announced at the Cartoon Forum in Greece (September 23-27), is "L'Enfant au Grelot" ("Charlie's Christmas") by Jacques-Remy Girerd (France), which also won awards at this year's Annecy and Stuttgart festivals.
* Saturday, October 3 - Friday, October 9. Cannes, France.
MIPCOM and MIPCOM Junior will once again bring together the television producers, distributors, buyers, and programmers of the world. Animated programming of all types is being offered by dozens of suppliers. Animated events within the conference include receptions with companies such as: BKN International, Film Roman, Nelvana and Southern Star. MIPCOM will be reviewed by Sony Wonder's Loris Kramer in the November 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine.
FOX KIDS WORLDWIDE has promoted YNON KRIEZ to president, Fox Kids Europe, a newly created position. As managing director of Fox Kids Europe since its launch in 1997, Kriez, based in London, has already overseen the launch of language-localized children's channels in the U.K., Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Poland, as well as a program block in Spain.
* Wednesday, September 23 - Sunday, September 27. Syros, Greece.
* Thursday, September 24 - Saturday, September 26. Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
The University of the Balearic Islands presents ANI.MAR 98, short for the Amateur Animators Focused International Festival. This competitive festival has three categories: 3D animation short films, traditional animation films less than 15 minutes and traditional animation films more than 15 minutes. The event will also offer workshops, retrospectives and exhibitions. For information contact info@studio1.uib.es.
* Friday, September 25. Utrecht, Netherlands.
The Utrecht School of the Arts faculty of Art, Media & Technology holds their annual presentation of the European Media Master of Arts, including Computer Animation. The event will take place at Baby in Amsterdam. Admission for Baby members is free, All others are admitted by invitation only. Contact hans.mertens@kmt.hku.nl for more details.
* Friday, September 25. London, England, U.K.
In honor of Warner Bros. 75th anniversary, The Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) launches an exhibition of original Looney Tunes art work. In honor of MOMIs tenth anniversary, admission is free until the end of September! For more information about MOMI, visit the Hidden Treasures feature in Animation World Magazines October 1997 issue.
Czech production and distribution company Kratky Film Praha a.s., which owns the Bratri v triku and Jiri Trnka animation studios, has been substantially restructured. The company has been struggling financially since 1994, and has been facing possible bankruptcy since 1997, a measure prevented by a recent investment from insurance company Ceska Pojistovna, now the majority shareholder in Kratky Film. The restructuring has also caused a management shake-out.
MARIE-LINE PETREQUIN will leave ProSieben and join another German company, IGELFILM as managing director of animation and development in the area of production/co-production of animation. She was previously vice president and head of the animation department at ProSieben Media AG, where she has worked since 1990.
The National Film Board of Canada (NFBC) has entered into a license agreement with Los Angeles-based producer Jean Madar to develop new TV series and films based on a collection of popular animated shorts from its library. Madar, a Montreal native whose background includes work with Pixibox and Medialab, will use the animated shorts as ready-made pilots for new projects. He has grouped the NFBC films into four collections: "Kids" for children's animation, "Tunes" for musical shorts, "Crazy" for more adult-oriented films, and "Insane" for late-night fare.
MEDIAPEGS, creators of PEGS 2D animation software, has named FRANCE LÉTANG director of sales & marketing for Europe. She will be based in Paris and report to vice president Paul Marcot in Los Angeles. Létang previously worked at Saban International Services.
Every year since 1991, the organization CARTOON, with the support of the MEDIA program of the European Union, selects one short European animated film as the Cartoon DOr, or best European animation film. Nominees are selected from the list of top prize-winning and recommended films from participating European animation festivals: Annecy, Brussels, Cardiff, Espinho, Stuttgart, Utrecht and, new this year, Oslo. The director of the Cartoon DOr winning film will receive 25,000 ECU (approximately U.S. $25,000) to spend on a new animation project.
Animation educator Gail Banker died of a stroke on Sunday, September 13, the day after her 60th birthday. For the past 13 years, she taught animation to children and adults in the New England area: as an instructor at Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire; as a counselor at the Charles River Creative Arts Program in Dover, Massachusetts; and as founder of Single-Frame Studio in Norwich, Vermont, where she ran weekly animation workshops for children. She also taught adult animation classes at her studio and through various continuing education programs.
Automaker Lincoln Mercury, a major sponsor for Paramount and Nickelodeon's animated feature, "The Rugrats Movie," will spend approximately U.S. $20 million on tie-in advertising to launch a new minivan called the Mercury Villager in conjunction with the film's release in November. The campaign will include TV ads featuring the Rugrats characters in an animated version of the minivan.
Imagina, a computer conference and festival which is often referred to as the European equivalent to SIGGRAPH, is expanding for its 18th edition, January 18-22, 1999. In keeping with tradition, the event will start in Monaco, January 18-20, with conferences and panel discussions on the theme "integral images and meta tools", the "Prix Pixel-INA" awards competition and the Innovation Space; then, in Paris, January 20-22, the event will continue with the exhibition of new industrial developments and technologies.
For information, visit www.ina.fr/ina/imagina.
The 7th biennial Hiroshima International Animation Festival ended on Monday, August 24 with a grand awards ceremony. The top winners are:
Grand Prize: "The Old Lady and the Pigeons" by Sylvain Chomet (Canada).
Hiroshima Prize: The Mermaid by Alexander Petrov (Russia).
Debut (first film) Prize: Busby by Anna Henckel-Donners-Marck (Germany).
Renzo Kinoshita Prize: "L'Aréne (Série "Vermillion")" by Nicolas Jacquet (France).
ANNE SWEENEY has been named president of DISNEY/ABC CABLE NETWORKS, filling a position left vacant when Geraldine Laybourne left in June to form her own media company. Since 1996, Sweeney has been president of the Disney Channel, a title she will retain with the promotion, which will add several programming outlets under her wing: Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel and E! Entertainment Television, as well as ABCs Saturday morning line-up. Prior to Disney, Sweeney was at FX for three years and at Nickelodeon for 12. . . .
