A 360-Degree Victory: Mavka. The Forest Song and Mom Hurries Home, FILM.UA Group Animation Projects, Became the First Ukrainian Projects to Pitch at Cartoon 360 in Barcelona

A feature animation strip Mavka. The Forest Song (Animagrad, FILM.UA Group) and an animated series Mom Hurries Home (Glowberry, FILM.UA Group) made it through the selection for CARTOON 360 pitching to take place in Barcelona in late May. The projects will be presented to a wide professional audience from the stage of Disseny Hub Barcelona. The forum is unique in selecting animation projects with a significant transmedia potential: only those IPs where ideas, characters and plots can be implemented in different contemporary media formats, from a web episode to VR content, will make it to the short list.

It is important to note that Ukraine will be presented at this event for the first time. Our projects made it to 25 best and the most promising IPs for multiplatform implementation from all over the world; among those lucky few will be projects from France, Spain, the UK, Belgium, and Canada.

Moreover, the CARTOON 360 jury highly estimated the creative potential, experience and professionalism of Mavka. The Forest Song and Mom Hurries Home project authors, having immediately allocated a special grant for the four producers to participate in the pitching. The grant covers all participant expenses and provides a wealth of privileges during the forum.

CARTOON 360 will take place between May 29 and June 1 in Barcelona. The producers will be able to present their projects, ideas and developments not just to the main industry professionals with potential partners among them but also in front of an expert commission to obtain their real-time qualified recommendations about the development of presented media formats. The commission consists of 27 experts from different countries working in such innovational industries as gaming, e-books publishing, VOD platforms, interactive apps, digital distribution, licensing, toys production, digital content, VR and AR, as well as investors, merchandising partners and digital marketing experts. Potential partnerships and negotiated contracts are the main perk and the added value of this event.

“Even now it’s obvious for us that Mavka. The Forest Song won’t limit itself to just an animation feature. The film’s success at international markets, pitchings and other events as well as overwhelming positive reaction to this IP from international professional audience prove that the project has huge multiplatform potential. The accompanying themes of the film, i.e. environmental protection, Ukrainian authentic culture and mythology, a unique visual language and a powerful and fresh female character all can be implemented not just as a film but on a much wider scale: for us a notion of ‘Mavka’s universe’ has emerged, and under this umbrella we’ll develop and implement a wealth of media formats (games, apps, VR and AR experiences, e-books, a series and a web series, as well as offline fashion projects and events, merchandising, etc.). Our slogan to be presented in Barcelona is MYTHOLOGY MEETS TECHNOLOGY,” says Irina Kostyuk, project producer.

This spring Mavka has already managed to make a convincing statement at Cartoon Movie pitching in Bordeaux, and Mom Hurries Home is preparing for two more European events on international scale, Animation Production Day in Stuttgart and MIFA pitching held under the aegis of Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Сartoon 360 is a signature event in the whole range organized by CARTOON professional brand. With each passing year, it becomes even more essential for animated projects creators to distribute their content to different platforms, audiences and formats. The goal of the event is to allow the best projects of the year (according to CARTOON) to find partners for efficient development of their business all over the world. Therefore, participation in pitching is a strategic achievement in international marketing for FILM.UA Group projects.   

FYI: Mavka: The Forest Song is a full-length animated feature produced by Ukraine-based Animagrad (FILM.UA Group). It is currently at the concept stage of development. The film is inspired by a play of the same name by Lesya Ukrainka, as well as by various Ukrainian legends and cultural traditions. The film’s production crew includes experts from leading ethnography institutes: the Ukrainian Studies Center at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Ivan Honchar Museum, and the Ukrainian Fashion Museum. The experts are there to ensure the authenticity of the Ukrainian myths and legends, religious beliefs, rituals, and visual culture translated into the singular animated world of Mavka. And the world-renowned group DakhaBrakha has already committed to creating the film’s soundtrack.In September 2016, the animated feature Mavka: The Forest Song won the ninth contest held by the Ukrainian State Film Agency and was awarded state financing in the amount of 30% of the film’s total budget. Mavka: The Forest Song is scheduled for release in Ukraine in late 2018–early 2019.

Media Resources Management is the company responsible for submitting Mavka. The Forest Song and Mom Hurries Home to these and other events.