ADP 2012 Announces Financing & Brands Panel

Press release from Animation Production Day 2012:

Berlin/Stuttgart – As part of the Animation Production Day 2012 the conference “Financing & Brands” will take place at Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart on May 9th 2012.The panel, consisting of top-class representatives of the industry, will discuss the cultural and economic challenges of creating animated family entertainment in Europe.

Since its inception in 2007 Animation Production Day has, as part of the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film and the FMX, developed into one of the key European business platforms for the international animation industry. It is aimed at feature film and TV series, games and mobile content, with a focus on financing and brand development opportunities. Each year companies from all over the world attend the APD, including producers, TV & theatrical distributors, broadcasters, games & mobile publishers and providers, banks & public funders. They can discuss new financing channels, product strategies and possible options for exploitation as well as the projects' brand potential in a great, informal atmosphere.

In co-operation with the German Producers Alliance, and as part of APD 2012, the conference “Financing & Brands” will take place on May 9, 2012. This year’s conference will focus on “The cultural and economic challenges of creating animated family entertainment in Europe.” Among others, the following questions will be discussed: How and why have countries such as France, Denmark and others successfully managed to build up a strong, diverse animation industry as part of their own, home-grown children's media culture? Which financing mechanisms and funding models do these countries have? What fundamental cultural, political and economic changes are necessary to strengthen German children's media culture and to shape the animation industry so as to enable its brands, content and concepts to be exploited on a national and international scale?

The conference will be opened by Dr. Christoph E. Palmer (Head of the German Producers Alliance). 

Keynote speakers are:
Peter Dinges Chairman of the German Federal Film Board (FFA)
Henrik Bo Nielsen CEO of the Danish Film Institute (DFI)
Peter Boudgoust Director of Südwestrundfunk (SWR, Southwest Broadcasting, Germany)

Further participants of the panel discussion to follow (moderated by Christophe Erbès) are: 
Gabriele Röthemeyer CEO Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (MFG)
Florence Avilés Production Director at IFCIC (Institute for the Financing of Cinema and the Creative Industries, France)
Jan Bonath Chairman of the Animation Section of the German Producers Alliance and CEO scopas medien AG
Kristian Kreyes Head of Technology and Media, Brandenburg State Investment Bank (ILB)
David Sproxton CBE, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Aardman Animations Ltd.
Bernhard zu Castell Managing Director, Universum Film GmbH
Achim Thielmann Vice President Team Media, Commerzbank AG Berlin

For non-APD-participants, tickets are still available for a fee of € 250 at the FMX ticket shop [1].