Ellipse Animation’s VP of international financing, Morgann Favennec, is doing double-duty at MIPTV this week after accepting a bigger role that spans two divisions of parentco Média-Participations.

Ellipse sister company Mediatoon Distribution has brought Favennec in as its first deputy managing director. She replaces former managing director Caroline Duvochel, who is now more focused on overseeing audiovisual business and innovation as director general of Média-Participations, a position she’s held since 2021.

Média-Participations has five subsidiaries under its umbrella spanning animated series and feature film production (Ellipse Animation, Belvision, Studio Campedelli), international distribution (Mediatoon) and audio content (Cascades). Mediatoon sells everything produced by the production studios.

Favennec’s first day at Mediatoon was April 2, but she’s still heading up international financing at Ellipse and will continue to report to Duvochel.

Favennec says that after six months at Ellipse, and given the tough times the animation industry is going through right now, it made sense for Média-Participations to have “only one person in the driver’s seat for Ellipse’s financing and Mediatoon’s deputy MD role because it’s easier to make strategic decisions and combine the producer’s and the distributor’s interests.”

She adds that the move was implemented in order “to optimize revenues for the long term as it’s more challenging than ever to finance new projects and maximize the value of catalogues on both linear and non-linear fronts.”

At Mediatoon, Favennec will work closely with new head of international sales Frédéric Gentet, as well as digital media manager Alexandre Neck and international marketing manager Gabriel Milagres.

Securing new deals for preschool series SamSam (52 x 11 minutes) and M6’s Living With Dad (52 x 12 minutes) are Favennec’s top priorities at MIPTV. She’s also looking for kids & family acquisitions that complement Mediatoon’s existing catalogue, with a preference for shows in advanced production.

As for Ellipse, securing presales for tween toon Versailles Unleashed (26 x half hours) and CG-animated series The Marsupilamis (52 x 11 minutes) are Favennec’s immediate focuses. The former is in production for France Télévisions, RTBF (Belgium) and Radio-Canada, while the latter has been commissioned by Gulli (France), RTS (Switzerland) and Radio-Canada.

Before she joined Ellipse, Favennec’s track record in global sales and acquisitions included six years with Xilam Animation and stints at Superights (Pat the Dog!) and M6 (Kid Lucky).