Kids, Animation & More (KAM) Summit and Ann Awards are back again with yet another insightful and exciting edition. The third edition of KAM Summit and Ann Awards 2022 will be held on-ground on 26 August at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai.
Back in 2019, AnimationXpress launched the first edition of KAM Summit and Ann Awards at The Lalit, Mumbai which saw a participation of about 700 delegates and 45 speakers. The second edition was held virtually on 15-17 July 2021 and witnessed 1500+ registrations, 1000+ attendees from eight countries. With 28 power-packed panel discussions, fireside chats and masterclasses, the summit saw a participation of almost 100 speakers and we were ecstatic that the virtual version, too, was a hit!
Year-to-year, the animation sector has flourished. Despite Covid, which impacted most industries, the AVGC industry continued to thrive. With most studios mastering the art of remote production and outsourcing work, the projects did take a small pause during peak pandemic, but work resumed soon after seamlessly. The government’s decision to implement an AVGC task force is a rock-solid step that is only going to amplify the business further, open new avenues for talented artists, and create tons of job opportunities.
With the key theme of Celebrating The New Dawn, this year, the event will see studios, broadcasters, OTT platforms, and creators from across the globe discuss the present status of the animation industry, the direction it can take to propel it further, and, of course, what the future holds. Well, animation is expanding into multiple genres and platforms and it will be a privilege to hear the foreseeable plans from the who’s who of the industry. KAM Summit aims to celebrate the growing animation industry and to do so, it brings together Indian and international representatives to reflect on trends and developments in every aspect of the business, creativity and the technology associated with it.
The animation industry’s creme de la creme is on the advisory board, which ensures that the event is highly anticipated and taken care of by the right hands. The members of the board include Paperboat Design Studios co-founder and director Aashish Mall, Green Gold Animation MD and founder Rajiv Chilaka, Technicolor India country head and CII National AVGC committee chairman Biren Ghose, 88 Pictures CEO Milind Shinde, Toonz Media Group founder/CEO Jayakumar P, AVGC Forum – FICCI chairman and Punnaryug Artvision founder Ashish Kulkarni, Mikros Animation head of creative operations Russell Tracy, Mikros Animation creative director Manoj Menon, OMDIA senior principal analyst (digital content and channels) Tim Westcott, Dancing Atoms creator, creative producer & director Saraswathi Vani Balgam, iRealities founder & managing director Prasad Ajgaonkar and Indian Television Dot Com Group founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.
KAM Summit has received an excellent response and participation from the Indian and the international industry. We are grateful for the generosity of our partners: KAM Summit and ANN Awards 2022 is presented by Nick and co-powered by 88 Pictures, the infrastructure partner is Yotta, the associate partners are Ssoftoons, Sony YAY, and Zebu Animation Studios, support partners are Mikros Animation, Huion, and Reliance Animation, lanyard and badges partner is Powerkids entertainment, and the festival partner is DigiCon6 Asia.
The summit will also witness the prestigious ANN Awards – a home-grown recognition for animation professionals – something that not just Indians, but the world looks forward to. The aim is to honour and recognise the best talents in the world of animation for their artistry and creativity.
Looking forward to the summit with anticipation, Biren Ghose said, “As Indian animation is now a global phenomenon, I believe that recognition of excellence in our industry such as the Ann Awards showcases the progression of our storytelling prowess. I am looking forward to the translation of new ideas into enchanting interpretations on screen. Our craft is all about skills and talent. The Mikros Animation creative team and I are looking to join the bustle with the anticipation and excitement that comes from meeting the KAM participants and Ann Awards winners.”
“It’s exciting to be participating at the KAM Summit & ANN Awards 2022. This congregation of a diverse set of stakeholders from the creative industry serves as an ideal platform for the exchange of ideas, best practices, learnings and insights while identifying new opportunity avenues, with technology at the core of everything,” said Yotta Executive vice president & chief cloud officer Dr. Sayed Peerzade.
Moving ahead Ashish Kulkarni said, “The Kids Animation & More + ANN Awards brings the AVGC-XR industry stakeholders together to discuss the critical issues, trends and developments in India. The lineup this year is extremely interesting as we have a mix of amazing case studies, fireside chats and also a mix of young artists as well as startups making interesting ideations. A major excitement is because this is the first physical event most industry leaders are attending after the pandemic. ANN Awards has a uniquely competing films all created during the last year. I enjoyed watching them as a jury member. I am sure the audience will love to watch them all some time soon. Really looking forward to the most awaited event on the 26 August 2022.”
“The KAM summit 2022 is the medium for people to discover what is available right now and what more is possible in the animation industry in terms of content creation, latest technology, trends and strategies. As this year’s theme suggests, we are ‘Celebrating the New Dawn’ of production and consumption of animation content and this would be fully expressed in the summit’s power packed sessions amongst industry leaders and renowned professionals,” Green Gold Animation founder and CEO Rajiv Chilaka said.
Talking about the upcoming summit, Sony YAY! business head Leena Lele Dutta said, “Animation gives wings to imagination. While we say that, the entertainment and animation industry in India has seen a revolutionary shift over the last few years with phenomenal growth. It feels great to be an integral part of this new era and we are happy to share this newfound association with the latest edition of the KAM Summit that drives synergies to celebrate the best in Indian animation.”
“The industry is going through massive change. There is a shift in programming from a majority of foreign content to locally produced content. The central aspect of Ssoftoons Plus OTT is to capture regional markets, which implies more diversified online content libraries with relatability and local flavour,” Ssoftoons CEO Sourav Mondal and COO Hansa Mondal jointly said.
The summit begins at 10 am with a welcome note by AnimationXpress founder, chairman and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari and the first session commences at 10.30 am. The keynote address will be delivered by Cyber Group Studios president and CEO Pierre Sissmann followed by the presentation of a Report on ‘Global Streaming Platforms: A new window for animation’.
The insightful panel discussions include: ‘Building a complete monetisation ecosystem’, ‘Boarding the brand bus’, ‘Getting kids’ attention in a fragmented universe’, ‘Making immersive content age appropriate’, ‘New Voices from Indian animation’, ‘Indian voices from overseas’ and ‘People factor in the new-world animation’. Along with these panel discussions, the event will also have interesting presentations and fireside chats, you sure wouldn’t want to miss the massive extravaganza that the KAM Summit withholds.
We welcome you all to join us and witness the brilliance that the animation industry is! See you on 26 August at Sahara Star Sapphire, Mumbai.
To register for the summit, click here: https://kidsanimationandmore.com/event-platform/registration.php