“The Violinist,” an animated feature, won the top prize at France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year, according to remarks made by co-director and producer Ervin Han at a panel held at TIFFCOM, the content market associated with the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Han, co-founder and CEO of Singapore’s Robot Playground Media, described how the film’s international partnership came together. At his first TIFFCOM visit in 2023, Han connected with Italian producer Cristiano Bortone and his team from Altri Occhi, who subsequently joined the project as co-producers. The film itself developed over a decade-long period from initial conception to completion. Han noted that promotion of the finished work proved as demanding as its production.
During the panel session titled “Anime’s New Frontier: Structuring & Financing International Co-Productions,” industry participants discussed strategies for international anime collaborations. Panelists emphasized that involving overseas partners early in development, alongside careful attention to financing structures and rights management from conception through distribution, represents best practices for such ventures.
Ilan Urroz, CEO of France’s Foliascope, highlighted regulatory factors supporting co-productions. French regulations require streaming services to invest at least 20 percent of revenues earned domestically into European or French-language original productions, with the requirement rising to 25 percent for certain services offering films within 12 months of theatrical release. This obligation applies to animation alongside other content categories and affects major platforms including Netflix, Disney+, Crunchyroll, Prime Video and HBO Max operating in France.
Other panelists stressed the human elements crucial to successful partnerships. Sakurai Taiki, CEO of Salamander Inc., drew on more than 25 years of anime industry experience across over 100 titles to underscore that talent and collaborative relationships form the foundation of effective projects.
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