Project pitch and presentation took place on September 20 during PITCH THIS!, a special program organized with the support of North American Animation Association and Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Only ten projects were selected by the jury for participation in the event; the only Ukrainian participant was Mom Hurries Homeanimated series (Glowberry, FILM.UA Group).
Except Mom, nine more teams from all over the world made it to the pitching. The participants arrived from China, Chile, Israel, South Africa and, naturally, Canada: the latter won the main prize, i.e. agreement on cooperation from the leading animation studios in Canada.
Though Mom Hurries Home hasn’t won the first prize in Ottawa, the project achieved the goals of its authors: having made it to the pitching shortlist, the animated series spurred significant interest among Canadian business audience, and animated series producers held a range of important meetings about possible cooperation.
“This is the first presentation of our series outside Europe, and it was a joy for us to discover that there is a lot of interest towards the project in Canada as well. We held a range of meetings with major Canadian companies, which have tens of successful series under their belt, and outlined further steps for joint work,” says Olga Cherepanova, director and creative producer at Glowberry.
We shouldn’t forget about a free trade zone agreement between Canada in Ukraine, which has entered into force; both parties have had the time to appreciate its advantages. The agreement creates favorable conditions for business and can positively influence Ukrainian-Canadian cooperation on the project in general.
A statement from Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, is also an important note to take. She has announced that Ukraine and Canada will work on agreement for joint production of audiovisual content. This should simplify the legal framework, decrease production costs and open up new opportunities for film producers.
“Ukraine is an important partner for Canada, and I am happy that our countries will work on this agreement together,” the minister said.
Ottawa International Animation Festival is among the most important events for animation industry; it is supported and financed by Pixar, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and other media giants. This year, the festival was held for the 41st time.
For Mom Hurries Home animated series, participation in the festival opened up new prospects in international development: such business vector was adopted by the project`s team in the beginning of this year. Just a reminder: in 2017, the project managed to visit four main European animation events: Animation Production Day in Stuttgart, СARTOON 360 pitching in Barcelona, pitching at Annecy International Film Festival, and co-production forum in Toulouse. Participation in pitching at Ottawa International Animation Festival became a logical next step for the project’s marketing strategy and helped its team enter North American TV market.
FYI: Mom Hurries Home is a series continuing a successful brand: a book with the same title was published in Ukrainian in 2010 and very soon became popular among children and their parents. An interactive version of the book for Android and IOS enjoys immense success and has been downloaded over 50,000 times. The book this summer the book was published in China. Mom Hurries Home is an animated series for children and adults alike who believe in miracles and magic which can happen right on the familiar city streets and even in the comfort of one’s own home. Lyosha’s mom and dad always hurry home to their son Lyosha (Lesyk in Ukrainian) and find themselves in magic adventures and surprising situations. But they still make it to the family dinner on time. As for their stories, they inspire Lyosha and his friends for their own new games and adventures. The series is produced by Animagrad studio.
In June 2017, the animated series “Mom Hurries Home” won the 10th Contest held by the Ukrainian State Film Agency and was awarded state financing in the amount of 40% of the film’s total budget.
Glowberry production became a part of FILM.UA Group in 2016.
