Annecy's MIFA: It's Business Time
It was the fortieth animation festival at
Annecy this year and the tenth MIFA. Annecy stands alone as the place
where animation art and business meet, says Vincent Ferri, manager,
MIFA. "I'm doing my best to keep the synergy alive. We want to
spread the word that Annecy is the only place where all sectors of
the industry, the art and the business, are catered for." To
this end, he wants to attract more investors, recruiters and directors,
to increase both the talent pool and also attract those business people
who may not have thought about animation before but now do so. He's
particularly keen to attract more UK buyers and investors, who were
somewhat thin on the ground this year. Next year, he's planning to
keep the various Annecy events separate by issuing gold, silver (MIFA)
and Bronze (festival) passes for Annecy, with the gold pass giving
access to all areas. This year there was a charge for attending the
MIFA which some felt was unfair and as a result didn't go in. Ferri
reported strong MIFA numbers overall, though -- 670 companies attending
the MIFA, as opposed to 575 last year, although there were less stands
at the MIFA than previously. This year's Annecy 2000 event was held
amid rumours of an unofficial boycott because of the controversial
choice of Roy Disney, Walt's nephew, as honorary chair ("He stands
against everything the festival stands for," said a source).
Despite this, though, and the close proximity of WAC in LA, which
might have affected figures, numbers attending Annecy were over 5,000
for the first time.
New Faces
There were some new entrants at the MIFA this year as well. For
the first time companies from Thailand and Bulgaria were represented.
Baltic Films also attended for the first time. The MIFA demonstrated
an increased fusion between 2D
and 3D; more shows are combining the two to produce innovative
programming. Internet start up companies were prevalent, such as Timebox,
a new UK animation company established just three months ago, which
is one of a number of fast growing European animation companies that
are taking advantage of the Flash technology to create animations
quickly. Timebox made its debut appearance at Annecy this year and
was pleased with the response they got in the marketplace.
In just three months of operation Timebox has created three shows:
Millie Mop, Girl Uninterruptable-- 12 x 1 minutes for young
adults about a girl who tells you exactly what she thinks, all of
the time -- and The Bet,which is based on the short story by
Anton Chekhov, and is a short film based on two men's disagreement
over capital punishment which ends in tragedy. A third series is Dogho,a
series about a dog who hates football and is always been dragged to
watch it. All three shows have been built in Flash, which, says Sherif
Choudry, producer, has meant they could be established quickly. A
few years ago, Choudry, who has a business and computer background,
says he wouldn't have attempted to build an animation company, but
because of Flash has been able to seize the opportunity to work in
a different industry. The components of Timebox are Choudry, who provides
the overall business strategy, Anuk Teasdale, writer, and director,
Mike Brand.
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