Pinoy animation Europe-bound

By Marinel Cruz
MANILA, Philippines—The Animation Council of the Philippines, an organization that specializes in 2D and 3D animation, is gearing up for a road show in Europe late this year, according to its president, Weng Bagadion.

“This will include the Spanish, Italian, French, German and British markets. We plan to showcase the winners of Animahenasyon,” Bagadion told Inquirer Entertainment.

The two-year-old Animahenasyon Pinoy Animation Festival, which aims to provide original content in this genre, is one of ACPI’s major projects. Last year’s grand prize winner was “Love and Marriage,” a music video on interracial relationships, by Kenny Lyn Tai.

“It has been a successful two years in terms of entries,” Bagadion said. “We brought the winners to the Hong Kong Filmart in March. We want to do this on a bigger scale.”

The ACPI brought 10 member companies to the Hong Kong Filmart, where they had the chance to negotiate with prospective buyers. As a result, Cutting Edge Productions’ “Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia” will soon be screened in the former British colony, said ACPI executive director Michael Kho Lim.

To make this road show possible, Bagadion said, the group asked the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), of which ACPI is a member, to help shoulder part of the expenses.

October target

“Our target is to do this sometime in October or November this year,” the ACPI chief said. “There are other opportunities to tap in the European market, like in France, which is currently considered the hub for animation and game development.”

Bagadion was referring to the annual gathering of all credible animation studios in France called the Annecy International Animation Festival. “We joined this event six years ago. The experience had been enriching, but very expensive,” she said. “We hope to send a delegation to Annecy in 2010.”

Bagadion pointed out that 80 percent of animation studios in the country are into outsourcing and dependent on the American market. “When that market crumbled due to recession, nadamay tayo. We want to help these studios get projects and diversify.”

Lucrative career

The ACPI is a 40-member association of animation companies. It has programs that aim to promote animation as a lucrative career for Filipinos, and the country as a global destination for animation outsourcing, as well as developing original content, Lim said.

He noted the ACPI has also helped bring local productions like “Urduja” (APT Entertainment, Seventoon, Imaginary Friends), “Tutubi Patrol” (Gecko Production) and “Jobert” (Top Peg Animation) to the week-long event in Hong Kong. “We want to bring with us more original material to similar events outside Asia,” Lim said.

The ACPI has added the workshop series on entrepreneurship as a new component to this year’s Animahenasyon in November. “We would like more Filipino animators to get into that business, not as employees but as studio owners,” said Bagadion.

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