“Producers Meet Producers”, the new event in the Animation Production Day 2015 programme, promises to be a great success – 76 producers have signed up for it. New funding from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) has created a positive stimulus. With 120 participants from 12 different countries and 37 selected projects with a combined production volume of 130 million Euros, this is the biggest APD yet.  

 
Animation Production Day (organised by the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film and FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia) is Germany’s only coproduction and cofinancing market specialising in animation projects and is taking place on 7-8 May 2015 in Stuttgart’s L-Bank.
 
“Producers Meet Producers” is the name of the networking event’s new section. Here, German and international producers, animation studios and also – for the first time – service providers, who are ready to get on board projects as cofinanciers, negotiate cooperations in one-to-one meetings. The aim of these new coproduction meetings is to facilitate even more animation productions between German and international partners. Financial support for the expansion of APD has been provided by additional funding from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and the Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg MFG, strengthening the animation industry and the standing of Stuttgart.
 
Providing a better launch-pad for German animation series in the European and international market is the aim of the cooperation between Animation Production Day and CARTOON. This year, up to three of the APD-showcased projects can qualify directly for participation in the Cartoon Forum (15-18 September 2015 in Toulouse). And cooperations with the Danish Film Institute, the Agence Culturelle D’Alsace and Catalan Films & TV are also important building blocks to strengthen networks for European coproductions. 
 
The number of participants in APD has been continually growing in recent years. In 2015, nine feature film projects and 13 series as well as three games/apps and 13 crossmedia or transmedia projects have been selected – a total of 16 German projects as well as projects from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, France, Belgium, Croatia, Poland, the UK and Egypt.
 
“Enable!” is both the title and motto of this year’s APD conference (hosted by Lilian Klages). The first section will use case studies to demonstrate how successful new content can be developed and realised today with speakers Dr Helmut W Pesch (Head of Content Development, Bastei Lübbe AG), Axel von Maydell (CEO, Morgen Studios), Steffen Kottkamp (Creative Director, MackMedia, Europa-Park Media Company) and Christian Fonnesbech (CEO/Creative Director, Investigate North).
 
In the conference’s second part, the “Content Briefing Session” (hosted by Christophe Erbès), representatives from German and international broadcasters and distributors will outline their programme requirements and present their assessment of industry developments. Contributing will be Gabriele Holzner (Head of Family, Children and Lifestyle Programming, Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)), Wiebke Hoefer (Senior Director of Sales, DHX Media), Katharina Pietzsch (Director, ZDFE.junior) and Jo Daris (Head of Operations, m4e).
 
The third section, “Who Killed Bambi? – Journalism and Animation in Germany” (hosted by Ulrich Höcherl, editor-in-chief of Blickpunkt:Film) will look at the German animation market. Producers and journalists will discuss the quantity and quality of German animation productions and their resonance with the general public. Gabriele Walther (CEO, Caligari Film) will deliver the keynote address and then panel members will be Dr Rolf Giesen (film academic/journalist from Die Welt), Daniel Kothenschulte (journalist, Frankfurter Rundschau), Tony Loeser (CEO/Producer, MotionWorks), Andreas Platthaus (journalist, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Julia Weber (Head of Theatrical Sales & Acquisitions, Global Screen).
 
The hosts of APD are the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film and FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia. The event is organised by the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH. www.animationproductionday.de