On 1 September, Hotel Excelsior’s Spazio Incontri hosted a panel discussion titled “Europe-Japan: New Co-production Practices in Animation”. The CITIA and Venice Production Bridge (29 August-3 September) event was moderated by MIFA and Annecy head of Industry Benoît Blanchard, and featured the participation of Oussama Bouacheria from Studio La Cachette, Olfa Sakakibara from TOEI Animation, ASMIK-ACE representatives Mai Kato and Fumie Takeuchi, Dwarf Studios representatives Noriko Matsumoto and Yuriko Okada, and Cartoon Italia president and MAD Entertainment co-founder and producer Maria Carolina Terzi.

After a brief round of introductions, the floor was given to Sakakibara, who spoke about TOEI’s recent commitment to crafting projects that resonate with local audiences, often using traditional animation techniques with stories rooted in local folklore. She cited TOEI’s new show Le College Noir - Lament from Auvergne, co-produced with La Cachette and ADN, as an example. “We want to do this throughout Europe, and beyond,” she underscored.

Bouacheria shared that despite having grown up with Disney cartoons and anime, his team has always aimed to create original stories from France. “For instance, Le College Noir speaks about the French countryside, with all its monsters and mythology. It took us ten years to achieve this result,” he added.

La Cachette is already working on the second season, currently drafting storyboards, although the release date is yet to be confirmed. The studio financed 60% of the budget for season 1, while ADN and TOEI contributed 20% each. Season 2 will have a slightly different financial structure, as “ADN will take on fewer risks and was forced to invest 20% of the budget [for season 1] owing to local legal obligations. They have no obligation to keep investing in it, but they decided to stay just because they love the show,” Bouacheria revealed.

Next, Kato and Takeuchi discussed the history of their production and distribution company, which began in 1985. Around 2010, the firm increased its efforts in animation. Some of their most successful titles include Shinya Tsukamoto’s sci-fi tale Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, Tran Anh Hung’s drama Norwegian Wood, Satoshi Kon’s mystery series Paranoia Agent, Michael Arias’ Tekkonkinkreet and Masaaki Yuasa’s rock opera Inu-Oh.

The studio’s new project, titled A New Dawn and co-produced with France’s MIYU Productions, is being directed by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya and is set for release in 2025. Production is ongoing, with completion expected by next March. International rights, excluding those for France, are being handled by ASMIK-ACE, and the budget is below €6 million, with 80% allocated by Japanese producers and 20% by French producers.

Later, Matsumoto and Okada (both attending remotely) retraced the history of Dwarf Studios, launched in 1999. The studio has worked on franchises and IPs such as Toy Story, Hidari and Komaneko: The Curious Cat. They briefly touched on Pokémon Concierge, commissioned by Netflix, and Mogu & Perol, co-produced with France TV, APC Kids and Zephyr.

When asked about other countries they are targeting for potential co-productions in Europe, the Dwarf Studios representatives said they ideally seek nations with a strong tradition in stop-motion and those that would make reliable partners. These may include the UK, Ireland and Italy, as well as Mexico and Canada outside of Europe.

Finally, Terzi (also joining remotely) spoke about MAD Entertainment’s efforts, emphasising how Studio Ghibli remains the team’s biggest reference.

“The connection between Italy and Japan is in their poetry. The Japanese love Italy, and Italians flocked to see Miyazaki’s latest movie en masse. This ‘poetic connection’ has finally resulted in a co-production agreement between the two countries, the first in our history. It’s time to find movies and series in order to share narratives. This is a big opportunity for us,” Terzi said enthusiastically. The Italy-Japan co-production agreement was ratified just one month ago, and an Italian delegation of professionals will soon travel to Tokyo to further develop the new partnership.

“Today, producing animated films in Italy is very difficult. We need to seek new opportunities worldwide, as we don’t have a local platform or broadcaster really investing in animation,” she concluded.