Philippines secures USD 55.3M in sales leads at prestigious French animation festival | Department of Trade and Industry Philippines

Annecy, France—The Philippines’ creative sector generated potential sales of USD 55.3 million after participating in the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market, or the Marché International du Film d’Animation (MIFA) 2024.

The Philippine delegation, led by the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Export Marketing Bureau, in collaboration with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Film Philippines, Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines Inc. (SIKAP), and Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI), successfully showcased the country’s dynamic animation, film, creative content, and game development industries at MIFA from June 11 to 14, 2024. This participation resulted in promising contracts under negotiation and potential sales that are set to be further developed.

“We are delighted to see the growing awareness and sustained presence of the Philippines at MIFA. At the DTI, we are dedicated to fostering the development and growth of our creative industry,” DTI-EMB Director Bianca Sykimte said.

“The DTI-Export Marketing Bureau, in collaboration with our esteemed partners from both the public and private sectors, remains steadfast in its commitment to championing export growth through strategic promotional initiatives such as this,” she added.

Nine world-class Philippine animation studios and filmmakers participated this year, namely Animation Vertigo Asia, Inc., J. Legaspi Computer Graphics, Kampilan Productions, Kino Arts, Inc., Leveret Group, Martinii Animation Studio, The Puppeteer Animation Studios, Inc., Toon City Animation, and Top Draw Animation.

During the event, Kino Arts, a boutique studio known for feature films and documentaries, represented the Philippines at the Annecy Southeast Asia Pitch with their animated science fiction feature “EWA.”

To highlight the Philippines’ animation and storytelling talent, filmmaker Carl Joseph Papa competed in the festival’s Feature Films Contrechamp Category with “Iti Mapukpukaw” (“The Missing”), a Filipino-Ilocano rotoscope animated film about Eric, whose life changes after encountering a familiar alien and the death of his uncle, prompting him to untangle his past memories.

The delegation also attended the Malaysia Business Networking event, hosted by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), which facilitated the partnership between Southeast Asian partners through a Memorandum of Exchange.

As part of the Philippine Independence Day celebration, the Philippines hosted a reception and pitching event called Phili-Pitch, where five Filipino animation studios presented their projects for potential funding and co-production. The studios included:

Leveret Group with “Ad Memoriam” (presented by Ria Lu)
Animation Vertigo with “Afternoons with Lapu-Lapu” (presented by Marla De Castro – Rausch)
Kino Arts with “EWA” (presented by Keith Sicat and Sari Dalena)
Puppeteer Studios with “Anito” (presented by John Aurthur Mercader and Pamela Louie Mercader)
Martinii Animation Studio with “Tales of Hasheesh” (presented by Mari Nicole Mendoza)

“Anito” by Puppeteer Studios was chosen as the winner by a jury that included FDCP FilmPhilippines Executive Director Joierie Pacumio and judges from Malaysia and Thailand. Meanwhile, Puppeteer Studios received support from the FDCP’s International Film Market Assistance Program for future festival or lab attendance.

The Annecy Festival is a well-regarded event that attracts a wide range of regional partners, studios, investors, producers, content creators, and talents eager to participate in competitions, masterclasses, and exhibitions. One of its key components is the Annecy International Animation Film Market (Mifa), which has been promoting games, animation, and films and conducting workshops and seminars on financing and marketing since 1998. ♦

Date of release: 07 August 2024

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