Jan Kounen: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Top Belgian distribution and production company Belga Films Group is teaming up with French director Cédric Nicolas-Troyan on an English-language, live action adaptation of the iconic, European comic book The Yellow M.

France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the prize winners of its biggest edition to date, running from June 11 to 17.

Lise Pedersen An A-list panel was invited to discuss the question of animated film for adults in a conversation entitled “What Is Adult Animation Film’s Strategy and Where Is It Headed?” at the Cannes Film Market’s fourth edition of Animation Day on Sunday.Panelists included Dutch-born French filmmaker Jan Kounen (“Doberman,” “Blueberry,” “My Cousin”), who also presented his latest project “Epiphania” in the morning’s pitching sessions, alongside Sun Creature (“Flee”) co-founder and producer Charlotte de La Gournerie, Bruno Felix, founder and co-CEO of Amsterdam-based Submarine (“They Shot the Piano Player,” “Where Is Anne Frank?”), and Amel Lacombe, CEO and founder of Paris-based indie distributor Eurozoom. Asked whether the perception of adult animation is evolving, Lacombe, who heads Europe’s leading theatrical distributor of Japanese animation, alluded to the genre’s exponential growth over the past two years, saying: “Change will come with big money and big business.

Lise Pedersen The fourth edition of Animation Day, which is part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Market, will take place on May 22.A one-day event aimed at the global animation filmmaking community, it is a joint initiative launched in 2019 by the Cannes Film Market and the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival, in partnership with Animation! Ventana Sur, the animation branch of Latin America’s leading film market.This edition will kick off with the Annecy Goes to Cannes pitching sessions, featuring five works-in-progress projects at various stages of development.

Martin Dale ContributorOn average French films allocate under 3% of their total budget on VFX, according to a report on employment in the French VFX sector presented at PIDS Enghien in Paris by the French film and TV agency CNC.The report, produced with market research firm Audiens, found that for films budgeted at over €15 million ($17 million), the VFX spend rises to an average 11.8% of budget.The data suggests that the number of French films using VFX has increased over the past decade. In 2020, 108 of 131 French feature films had recourse to VFX expenses in their overall budget.