A total of 51 newly developed animation projects from 19 countries have been selected for the 18th edition of Animation Production Days (APD) in Stuttgart. As part of the co-production and financing market, which is taking place from 23–25 April in Stuttgart, producers and creatives will present their projects to potential partners in pre-arranged one-to-one meetings. APD is a joint venture of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) and FMX – Film & Media Exchange.
A total of 94 projects were submitted for this year’s edition of APD. The 51 outstanding projects that have now been selected comprise 29 TV series, 12 feature-length films, two TV specials and eight cross or transmedia projects. Approximately 30 per cent of the projects are being developed for preschool children, another 30 per cent for six to 12-year-olds, 25 per cent for family audiences and the final 15 per cent for young adults.
Over 25 per cent of the projects address environmental topics. For the youngest target group, these primarily take the form of stories in and about nature while, for older children and teenagers, environmental destruction and climate change are also discussed. Diversity and inclusion are integrated into the narratives of almost 30 per cent of the projects. Overall, a lot of comedies are featured this year (action comedy, adventure comedy, sitcoms). Some of these projects tackle serious topics, including physical and psychological illness, mental health, loss and death, in creative, entertaining and often encouraging ways.
Of the 51 selected projects, the following countries are particularly well represented: Germany (12), Denmark (6), France (5), Spain (4), Ireland (3) and Finland (3). There are also projects from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia Ukraine and the United Kingdom. In 65 per cent of the projects, at least one woman has a leadership position, that is as a producer and/or director. The total production volume of the projects is around 210 million euros.
This year’s co-production and financing market has a particular focus on Ireland which is being represented at APD by more than ten participants. Supported by the Zeitgeist Irland 24 initiative and in cooperation with Animation Ireland, Ireland is also the country in focus at this year’s ITFS.
APD Talent Programme
Of the projects submitted, 29 were applications for the APD’s Talent Programme which selects eight European projects each year. The up-and-coming producers and creatives in the programme receive free accreditation for APD where they have the opportunity to discuss their ideas with experienced industry experts as well as to build their networks and find partners for their projects. This year, the Croatian series project Flipside Sautee by Sunčana Brkulj and Jess Mountfield qualified for participation in the APD Talent Programme via cooperation with the European training programme, Animation Sans Frontières.
