Elvis Riboldi: Last News

Ben Croll Capping an Iberian flavored edition that featured eight pitch projects and a spotlight on the national industry, Spanish outfits GoldBee and Peekaboo Animation won tributes at this year’s Cartoon Forum, with the Barcelona-based GoldBee named Investor/Distributor of the Year and indie production house Peekaboo Animation claiming the Producer prize. Rounding out the tributes with continental flair, Germany’s KiKA was awarded Broadcaster of the Year. Founded in 2013 and now boasting a catalogue over 2,500 titles strong, GoldBee specializes in half-hour children’s and family content, distributing animation and live-action productions to partners around the world. Projects like the Mexican-Spanish co-production “Cleo & Cuquin” and the British chiller “Scream Street” are but some of GoldBee’s notable titles. In keeping with German-Spanish pas-de-deux of this year’s tributes, the Barcelona-based GoldBee has found particular success with ZDF Studios productions “Ziggy and the Zootram” and “Henrietta.”

Emiliano De Pablos Eight animated TV series projects involving Spanish companies will be presented to buyers and producers attending 2022 Cartoon Forum’s pitching sessions, the event’s main attraction.  Among well-known production companies presenting their latest cartoon shows figure In Efecto Atlantis, the Spanish-French studio behind Disney’s series “Tara Duncan;”Sygnatia, the producer of multi-award winning animated film “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles,” and Peekaboo Animation, creator of world sales hit series “I, Elvis Riboldi.”  Two of the Spanish projects selected (“My Brother is a T-Rez” and “Polka Dot Zebra”) target preschoolers; five titles (“Bertie’s Brainwaves,” “Best Friends Forever… Stranded!,” “Mervyn’s Album,” “The Little Orchestra” and “Zoey Oceans”) are intended for older children; “Firsts” aims for family audiences.

Emiliano De Pablos The rise of Spain’s animation power promises to provide one of the leading narratives at this year’s Cartoon Forum.   In one of its strongest representations ever at the Toulouse event, eight high-profile TV series projects from Spain will be pitched, trailing only France.   To complete its standout presence, a spotlight on Spain will take place at the Forum, with several networking activities to promote local industry, backed by Spanish trade promotion broad ICEX in collaboration with Diboos, the country’s toon and VFX federation. In recent years, the animation scene has experienced a historic growth, becoming a key sector in the rapidly growing local audiovisual market. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Germany’s KiKA, France’s TF1 and Denmark’s DR Sales figure among the best-known of contenders for the 2022 Cartoon Tributes, awarded for outstanding achievement in Europe’s TV animation industry. France, followed by Spain, dominates Cartoon’s three categories of broadcaster, investor/distributor and producer of the year, which will be voted on by the about 1,000 delegates at this year’s Cartoon Forum, which takes place in Toulouse, Southern France, over Sept. 19-22. Award winners will be announced on Sept. 22.  Backed by German public broadcast giants ARD and ZDF, KiKa figures as Germany’s biggest kids connect provider. But it will face tough competition from TF1 Unité Jeunesse, the children’s  arm of giant French broadcast network TF1 whose kids slot TFOU broadcasts 70 hours of programming a year. 

Emilio Mayorga “Nahuel and the Magic Book” and “A Costume for Nicholas” and TV shows “Petit Season 2” and “I, Elvis Riboldi,” are nominated for the 4th Quirino Ibero-American Animation Awards.The Awards will be held in the Spanish Canary Island city of La Laguna, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife over May 27-29.Targeting family audiences, German Acuña’s fantasy movie “Nahuel and the Magic Book” is produced by Chile’s Carburadores, Brazil’s Levante Films and Chile’s Punkrobot, which won a best animated short Academy Award for “Bear Story.” Sold by Spain’s Latido Films, it mixes adventure, myths and legends from the Southern Chilean island of Chiloé while telling the story of a Nahuel, 12, who has a deep fear of the sea.