Tagged With: India

Manu Ittina, who has worked on such films as SHREK 2 and MADAGASCAR, has set up his Ittina Studios in Bangalore, India, with the hopes of bringing high-quality animation to India.

However, he knows the feat will be difficult, because 95% of the work being done in India is outsourced work. Under quick deadlines, studios are forced to produce up to 12 seconds of animation per day, compared to major U.S. studios like Pixar and DreamWorks that produce three to five seconds per week.

AMELIE director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is the latest helmer to sign on to direct Fox 2000's adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-winning Yann Martel novel LIFE OF PI, reports VARIETY. Jeunet will also team with his writing partner Guillaume Laurant to pen the script.

Novel follows the journey of a 16-year-old boy from India to Canada. After a ship wreck, the boy becomes the sole human survivor on a lifeboat with a hyena, an injured zebra and a hungry tiger.

At the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference in India that began Jan. 6, 2005, Indian animation firms stressed the ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) as the key way for the industry to stretch out into the global marketplace, reports INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE.

"India and China are the two places where the action is going to be," Vishal Gondal, founder and director of Indiagames Ltd. "There is a great potential for Indian animation and gaming companies to create own IPR and then hit the global market in a big way.

Cartoon Network has acquired JUNGLE TALES, an animated series produced by Delhi-based Moving Picture Company India Ltd. The 3D show is a contemporary adaptation of stories from the PANCHATANTRA, a well-known collection of animal fables.

The 4th annual Frame (Films, Radio, Audio-visual, Music, Events, Shows) Conference in India is highlighting videogames and animation, reports VARIETY. Running until March 17, 2004, the event is taking place in Mumbai at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center. Frames discussions have covered broadcasting, animation, international co-productions and pioneering film marketing.

Mumbai-based UTV has announced it will launch a Hindi language kids network. The channel will air dramas, comedies, movies, animation and documentaries targeted toward kids 4-19. This will be the first children's network from a company based out of India.

Recently, Turner Intl. India debuted its Pogo channel. Turner launched Cartoon Network in India in 1995.