Mifa, the market running in parallel with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, returns to the French city for its 40th anniversary edition this year, taking place from June 10 to 13. With some 200 programmed events and 200 stands in a larger exhibition area, the market has become a must-attend event in the annual calendar for kids\u2019 media executives.<\/p>\n
The program includes 32 pitch sessions\u2014seven Mifa pitch sessions and 25 partner pitch sessions. For the Mifa pitches, 48 projects were shortlisted in the categories of short films, feature films, series and TV specials, immersive experiences and documentaries. Over 120 projects in development\u2014hailing from all continents\u2014will be presented across the pitch sessions.<\/p>\n
There will be 11 Mifa conferences across three categories\u2014innovation and technology, industry and business\u2014alongside press conferences, demo sessions, studio focuses and industry panels. Six sessions of \u201cMeet the\u2026\u201d are aimed at connecting publishers, festival programmers, producers, sales agents, buyers and composers.<\/p>\n
In devising the program for this year, V\u00e9ronique Encrenaz, the head of Mifa, and her team were firmly focused on helping animation executives navigate the challenges of the current market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a crisis,\u201d Encrenaz tells\u00a0TV Kids<\/em>. \u201cThere are some difficulties for animation studios right now in France, Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. due to the cuts of orders from the platforms and technological evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n From conference sessions offering tips on navigating the current climate to networking opportunities, Mifa aims to help creatives weather the storm and tap into new growth areas, including those in video gaming.<\/p>\n Annecy\u2019s vaunted position in the event calendar has been a two-decade journey, Encrenaz says, led by Mickael Marin, the CEO of CITIA, which organizes the annual show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been 20 years of reorganizing the market and listening to the industry,\u201d Encrenaz says. \u201cA market can never be the same year after year. It has had to evolve, change and adapt. Every year, we introduce new formats and events. It\u2019s a never-ending story; we adapt to the evolution of the industry. We listen to the professionals. It\u2019s part of our mission to help animation develop and to gather as many people as possible every year so that it benefits animation worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n That includes hosting workshops with French creatives in emerging markets, many of which have been expanding their presence at Mifa over the last few years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been bringing new countries, and those countries have brought more people every year,\u201d Encrenaz says. \u201cThis year, we are bringing a new country from Africa. We have a new pavilion for Australia and New Zealand. As France and other countries reduce the number of people coming because it costs a lot of money to travel, we have countries like Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic [increasing their numbers]. Malaysia and Japan are coming with many people, as well as Thailand and the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, despite the challenging climate for animation studios, especially in France, Encrenaz remains optimistic about the prospects for the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the first time that there has been a crisis in animation. What will help now is that it\u2019s very common to do co-productions. Animation costs a lot of money; 90 percent of projects now are co-productions. When one country is in greater difficulty than another, I think it can find ways to form partnerships. Many countries have also implemented tax credits and other incentives, which greatly assist in this effort. We know that animation is traveling well and is in high demand in most countries.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" V\u00e9ronique Encrenaz, the head of Mifa, gives a glimpse of what to expect at this year\u2019s market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":29648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21],"tags":[4586,5460,10901],"class_list":["post-29647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-annecy","tag-mifa","tag-veronique-encrenaz","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n