VISMANIMATION’s Lucia Vismara

Positioned as an independent consultancy firm, VISMANIMATION launched several months ago with the mission of fostering the production and distribution of high-quality animation and social impact-driven content. Founder Lucia Vismara, who is in charge of content development and international business, talks to TV Kids about offering flexible services and tailor-made solutions in production, financing, distribution and brand development and shares the values that underpin VISMANIMATION’s work.

TV KIDS: Tell us about VISMANIMATION’s services and offerings for the marketplace.
VISMARA: VISMANIMATION is an independent consulting firm operating in the media and entertainment industry. With more than 20 years of experience bringing top-quality animation to children globally, it offers flexible services and tailor-made solutions in the fields of content production, financing, international distribution and brand development. Our approach is to build a community around multiple industry players, with the mission to foster business growth and professional success for creators, producers, distributors and broadcasters.

TV KIDS: What are the values that underpin VISMANIMATION’s work?
VISMARA: Driven by passion, built on solid expertise, leveraging a strong network and moved by strategic vision, VISMANIMATION aims to foster the production and distribution of high-quality animation and social impact-driven content to inspire and generate value. I want to promote content with social relevance, not only entertainment and/or educational but with a real positive influence on future generations and a contribution to the world.

In a crowded market where everybody—humans (at every age) and now even technology (AI)—can create audiovisual content for kids and deliver it online, I strongly believe it’s necessary to encourage the production and distribution of content created with heart, focused on topical issues to inspire and generate value. My claim is “content for good.” For sure, these are not new concepts in the industry, but for this reason, they make me feel connected to a common feeling and encourage me even more to bring my personal contribution.

TV KIDS: What are the companies that VISMANIMATION will represent in Annecy?
VISMARA: I am very proud to be promoting the international business for Brand-Cross, a dynamic creative production factory capable of reacting quickly to the market needs, producer of the preschool hit Leo’s World. In Annecy, I will premiere their A Name That Is Not Mine,an emotional animated drama with social relevance commissioned by Italian pubcaster Rai. It’s a powerful feature film about Irena Sendler, the Polish nurse who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto and from the Holocaust during World War II. The story is based on the successful Italian book of the same name (soon to be distributed in China and other countries), written by children’s author Nicola Brunialti. Mixing the modern day and flashbacks with poetic watercolor images and repertoire scenes, it explains one of the darkest pages of human history to a new audience of young people. The artistic and technical approach is also unique: actors are filmed live on a green screen and then inserted into watercolor-drawn backgrounds. Then, everything is rendered three-dimensionally and pictorially using some specially created VFX techniques, compositing and mapping. This small piece of art will be ready to broadcast on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, 2025.

I’m also very happy to be working with Maga Animation Studio, an Italian leader in 3D CGI production and executive producer of global hits like Hello Kitty: Super Style! I will be looking for financing opportunities for their original On Your Tail, theTV adaptation of the 3D open-world life-simulation investigative game developed by Memorable Games with the quality CG of Maga Animation, published by Humble Games for Nintendo Switch and all platforms. The young aspiring goat detective Diana lives a fantastic coming-of-age adventure in Borgo Marina, an idyllic Italian coastal village hiding a big secret. She explores the surroundings on her trusty scooter as she gets to know the eccentric inhabitants and hangs out with new friends. But while she would like to enjoy her vacation, there are local mysteries to be solved. It’s an exciting story full of twists, turns and mysteries to uncover.

TV KIDS: What do you want other companies to know about why they should partner with VISMANIMATION?
VISMARA: I am looking for like-minded partners, whether broadcasters, creators, producers or distributors. I will put at their service all my commitment and professionalism to have a positive impact on their business, leveraging my three pillars: passion, expertise and vision. We will combine our passion and fun to have their stories be developed, travel worldwide and broadcast, allowing their voices to be heard around the globe and make an impact. They can rely on my expertise and solid knowledge of the business, its players, trends, specific legal aspects and market dynamics. We can share our vision and, in a fast-changing environment, align our goals to pursue their dreams.

TV KIDS: What will VISMANIMATION be focusing its energy on for the remainder of 2024?
VISMARA: I will be focusing on expanding the international broadcast partnerships for Leo’s World, which currently includes Samsung TV Plus (South Korea), beIN (MENA), MTVA (Hungary), RSI (Switzerland) and LTV (Latvia). The series, produced by Brand-Cross and Rai Kids, follows the adventures of a child with autism spectrum disorder. His puppet friend Babù helps Leo cope with the challenges of everyday life by taking him to fantasy worlds where, for the first time, abstract concepts like rules or temptations are explained to preschool children through engaging visuals. From an authentic story and part of a multimedia project created by Emanuela Cavazzini and Eleonora Vittoni, it is designed to captivate both neurotypical and neurodiverse kids in the name of inclusivity. The series, a top performer in terms of ratings, won the 2023 Pulcinella Award for best preschool show and was nominated at MIPCOM 2023 in the representation and inclusion scripted category.

Moreover, I will focus on scouting new broadcasting opportunities for the catalog of Maga’s original IPs, short clips with high potential not only on linear but also on platforms and digital, that can also be personalized according to the partner’s real needs to fulfill programming but also social media exposure. In The GoGoPig!, a comedy series of animated clips that presents sports to kids in a funny way, a bizarre green cat coaches a comical, gluttonous pig into winning all the gold medals by tempting him with what he likes most: food and acorns. It includes 13 episodes about soccer, 13 about winter sports and 26 about Olympic sports, which could come particularly in handy during the upcoming Olympics in Paris this summer.