After a successful on-ground event at The Lalit, Mumbai which saw a participation of about 700 delegates and 45 speakers, Kids, Animation & More (KAM) Summit and Ann Awards couldn’t have asked for a better second edition. The second edition of KAM Summit and Ann Awards 2021 was held virtually on 15, 16 and 17 July 2021 and witnessed 1500 plus registration, 1000 plus attendees from eight countries!
With 28 power-packed panel discussions, fireside chats and masterclasses, the Summit saw a participation of almost 100 speakers.
Advisory members, who are the pillars of this industry, helped AnimationXpress with their inputs and suggestions in setting up this terrific summit. They included Toonz Media Group CEO P Jayakumar, Vaibhav Studios founder and director Vaibhav Kumaresh, Zebu Animation CEO Adi Shayan, Green Gold Animations CEO Rajiv Chilaka, FICCI AVGC chairman and Punnaryug Artvision founder Ashish Kulkarni, Technicolor country head Biren Ghose, Assemblage Entertainment founder and CEO AK Madhavan, Walt Disney Animation Studios character technical director-simulation supervisor Avneet Kaur, Autodesk India technical solutions manager Samit Shetty, Joan Vogelesang Consultants president and CEO Joan Vogelesang and AVGC Centre of Excellence, Karnataka and secretary ABAI Srinivas Sribhakta.
KAM Summit was presented by Nick and was co-powered by Cosmos-Maya, Unreal Engine and Discovery Kids. YOTTA served as the workstation and OTT service partner whereas Green Gold Animation was the summit partner. ABAI promoting Centre of Excellence – COE were the associate partners and the event was supported by IN10 Media (GUBBARE) and HUION. Digicon6 Asia was the festival partner and ASIFA India served as the community partner.
The summit was followed by a grand award ceremony titled Ann Awards where the best talents in the world of animation were honoured and recognised for their artistry and creativity. Ann Awards received about 450 plus entries across its 66 categories. The winners will be receiving the prestigious Ann Awards trophy.
AnimationXpress founder, chairman and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari said, “I am grateful for the love and support the industry has shown towards this initiative. It was heartening to see speakers participating from across the globe and I am thankful to the attendees without whom this event wouldn’t have been possible. I hope we managed to stir some thoughts and I hope we start a movement in the industry. I am looking forward to the day when we see an Indian IP cracking Hollywood. Congratulations to all the winners of Ann Awards. I was blown away by some of the student’s works. It truly showcases the bright future Indian animation industry has.”
Here’s what the industry has to say about KAM Summit and Ann Awards:
Cosmos-Maya SVP Revenue and Corporate Strategy Devdatta Potnis shared, “It was great connecting with all the panelists from across the Indian animation spectrum, and AnimationXpress did well in translating the experience of the KAM summit onto the virtual space effectively. Well-put show!”
Speaking about the overall experience at the summit, Green Gold Animation said, “We are proud to have been associated with the KAM Summit 2021. It was a great experience to be in the midst of the industry thought leaders and to be able to contribute to the exchange. In the context of the last year and the current year, initiatives such as this summit help us realise the effort and resilience of all the stakeholders. As the Indian animation footprint continues to scale heights, we hope this initiative grows stronger in the years to come as well.”
Unreal Engine said, “Thank you for having us Animation Xpress. Great content and line up. Congratulations!”
University of Trinidad and Tobago programme lead for Animation Camille Selvon Abrahams mentioned, “At the KAM Summit it was great to discuss the academic perspective on animation. This is often ignored in our industry. The team at Animation Xpress did a fantastic job by bringing so many varying points-of-views, from all over the world. From the session I felt more at ease as we all expressed similar challenges but left feeling animation is here to stay! Thank you guys. Job well done.”
Climb Media director Kireet Khurana commented, “Animation Xpress has been the pioneer and torchbearer in bringing Industry news to the community and enthusiasts. It was great to participate, share and learn from the speakers their perspective on the industry and the future. Kudos to Anil Wanvari and the Animation Xpress team. Keep doing the great work!”
A happy Toon Club founder Tehzeeb Khurana shared, “Interesting weekend at the KAM Summit and Ann Awards 2021 organised by Animation Xpress. Over a span of three action packed days, the Summit had several insightful discussions & debates. All this opens our minds and helps us to see things from a different perspective. We have so much to learn and gain from such interactions.
And the highlight this year was the ‘Educationist Perspective on Animation’. Probably a first for India. We’ve rarely discussed the significance of animation education in schools and how it’s beneficial to kids, on a public forum. So double thanks for that to the team and Anil Wanvari.”
