Animation in Europe Expands & Calls for More Platform Investment

Animation in Europe, the federation of animation producers in Europe, has added Estonia, Greece and Portugal to its membership, bringing the total number of participating countries to 20.

At its general assembly meeting, the federation also called on streaming platforms to invest more in European animation and urged the European Union and EU member states to leverage the planned review of the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive to defend the position of European animation in the global market.

The AVMS allows for foreign media to be subject to investment obligations and is implemented in 14 countries. Animation in Europe revealed that family animation films in Germany represent barely 5 percent of film production but generate half of the feature film exports. In France, animated series account for nearly half of audiovisual revenues abroad but only constitute around 10 percent of the total volume of national production across all genres.

While buyers for American streaming platforms have been focusing their investments on national dramas to attract new subscribers, children’s content is directed by the headquarters in Los Angeles, which engage American studios. The majority of animation produced in France for these platforms is characterized by service provision. In Ireland, service production is often offered for series on American platforms. Spain has only two original productions for Netflix and on adult animation program. Not one single production has been commissioned by a streamer in countries such as Germany.

“We need to offer children, who make up over 10 percent of the EU’s population, content created and produced in Europe,” said Philippe Alessandri, president of Animation in Europe. “The introduction of an animation quota would ensure fair representation of European animation on platforms.”

During the general assembly meeting, the federation also elected its new board of directors for the next two yearss. Alessandri of Watch Next Media (France) will continue in his role as president and will be supported by four VPs: Moe Honan of Moetion Films (Ireland), Pablo Jordi of Pikkukala (Finland), Ivan Agenjo of Peekaboo Animation (Spain) and Dirk Beinhold of Akkord Film Produktion (Germany).