French children’s entertainment distributor, About Premium Content (APC) Kids is opening its own production company, Zephyr Animation, to develop original kids’ projects and co-develop/co-produce properties with global partners.
Run by APC Kids partners Lionel Marty, Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel, the new Paris-based studio has brought former head writer and story editor for Xilam and Ubisoft, David Sauerwein as its chief creative officer. He will oversee and manage all of Zephyr’s projects with a keen focus on shows for preschoolers and kids aged six to nine that play in a wide variety of genres, from action/adventure to comedy.
Zephyr Animation’s first project is a 52 x 11-minute animated comedy series, Adoonga from South Korean studio, Vooz (Pucca) which will be developed and produced by Zephyr and Vooz. APC Kids is handling the global distribution and licensing rights everywhere except Asia and Latin America.
Expected to launch in 2021, Adoonga is about an adventurous gorilla who trades in jungle life for big-city living. Zephyr is also planning to announce a trio of new projects ahead of next month’s MIPCOM market in Cannes.
Based in London, APC Kids’ portfolio of animated kids content includes The Memories of Nanette, Zoli & Pokey and preschool series Kid-E-Cats, which airs on Nick Jr. (globally), YLE (Finland), Turner’s Cartoonito (Italy) and HBO (Spain).
It is also the exclusive distributor for Genius Brands International’s Rainbow Rangers preschool series across EMEA, including Russia and ex-CIS countries.