Annecy Winner ‘The Violinist’ Found Its Italian Co-Producers at Tokyo Market, Director Ervin Han Tells Anime Co-Production Panel — SkimNews
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- The Violinist took 10 years from conception to completion, and the animated feature won the top prize at France's Annecy International Animation Film Festival this year.
- Ervin Han, co-founder and CEO of Singapore's Robot Playground Media, said a 2023 TIFFCOM meeting brought Italian co-producers onto the film; on his first TIFFCOM visit he met Italian producer Cristiano Bortone and his team at Altri Occhi, who later joined as co-producers.
- A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, an animated feature about food, horror and temptation, was pitched by Han this year with partners from Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Ireland.
- Ilan Urroz, CEO of France's Foliascope, said co-production is nothing new and pointed to platform partnerships, noting French rules requiring streamers to put at least 20% of their French revenue into European or French-language originals — rising to 25% for services offering films within 12 months of theatrical release, a rule that applies to animation.
- Netflix, Disney+, Crunchyroll, Prime Video and HBO Max were named by Urroz as the leading platforms in France, where those 20% and 25% investment obligations create demand for animated co-productions.
- Sakurai Taiki, CEO of Salamander Inc., who has more than 25 years in anime and over 100 titles, stressed that people and talent are decisive: "Partners are the key to success."
- Anime's New Frontier: Structuring & Financing International Co-Productions, the TIFFCOM session moderated by Kawano Masao of Into Global, drew agreement that overseas partners work best when brought in early, with financing, deal structures and rights management settled from development through release.
Why it matters: France requires streamers to put at least 20% of French revenue into European or French-language originals, rising to 25% for services offering films within 12 months of theatrical release — a rule that covers animation. That makes platforms like Netflix and Crunchyroll structural financing partners for projects like "The Violinist," which took 10 years and took Annecy's top prize.
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