Looking to expose attendees to new animation markets, Cartoon Forum invited producers from three non-EU countries to present projects—series from Armenia and Moldova, and a short film from Georgia—at the event this year. 

All three say their pitches were born out of an interest to make something in their national languages for kids, which has created an opportunity to reach large and underserved diasporas around the world.

Georgia’s Lira Production Studios brought a 26-minute short film called The Hermit (pictured inset) to Toulouse with the belief that it has strong potential to connect with audiences, says producer Lali Kik­navelidze. Based on the well-known 19th-century poem The Hermit (A Legend) by Georgian writer Ilia Chavchavadze, the film is about a recluse whose quiet and peaceful life is interrupted by a shepherdess. 

The Hermit.

The short is aimed at kids ages 14 and up, roughly the age at which Georgian kids start reading the poem in schools, says Kik­navelidze. 

For international viewers who didn’t grow up reading the lyrical legend, Lira’s film can still resonate because it tackles deep philosophical questions about redemption and identity. And the studio is using a mix of hand-drawn art and CG animation to give the film a standout look that resembles classical oil paintings. 

It’s budgeted at US$389,000, and Lira is seeking co-producers who can bring in actors to record the voices in English and French. The studio is also looking to secure presales, broadcast deals and distribution.

Kik­navelidze adds that the film is a natural fit for festivals, which could broaden its reach and make more people aware of Georgia and its talent pool. The country’s animation and television industries are heading in the right direction, thanks to a number of factors, she says. “Georgian films are gaining recognition and are regularly featured in top festivals and markets across Europe and worldwide. Additionally, Georgia offers an incentive program that provides a cash rebate of up to 25% of qualified local expenses.” 

Doing its bit to spread the word about the country’s assets, Lira was the first Georgian company to present a project at Cartoon Movie in 2017, showcasing the feature-length version of a CG-animated family-friendly film called Geno. And Cartoon Forum represents another first-time experience. 

On the other side of the Black Sea, the Republic of Moldova made its debut at the event this year with Studio Metrafilms pitching Occupation: Witch (featured image), a YA-skewing series adaptation of a three-book series by Belarusian writer Olga Gromyko.

In this 2D-animated fantasy toon (12 x 22 minutes), a young magic student becomes a witch out of water when her school internship program places her in the magic-free Vampire Valley, where she teams up with a vampire lord to solve the mystery of why other magicians have suddenly gone missing. 

Metrafilms has already raised 50% of the project’s US$3.6-million budget internally, says founder and producer Artem Vasyliev. 

The unlikely dynamic of a witch and a vampire solving mysteries together—which gives Occupation: Witch an X-Files vibe and a “will they or won’t they?” romance hook—makes the project unique in the market and creates good potential for multiple seasons, adds co-creator Kristina Duknich. 

Originally, Studio Metrafilms was based in Russia, but the company (and some of its employees) left the country when Russia invaded Ukraine. Moldova isn’t a bad place for the studio to start over, with a cost of living that’s significantly lower than in the US and many parts of Europe. It also has a cash rebate of 25% of eligible local expenses for animated series with a US$111,000 minimum spend. 

Crunchyroll also has a large office in Moldova, Vasyliev notes—a sign that international media companies are interested in the country. But he feels that Moldova still has a long way to go to be competitive with other countries in the region. One initiative he’s considering spearheading is  setting up an Eastern European producers hub in Moldova to facilitate more collaboration on projects. “We can bring people together and bring the money to Moldova,” says Vasyliev. 

For Vrej Kassouny, founder of Armenia’s ReAct Production, presenting Alphabet Heroes (12 x 11 minutes, pictured inset) at Cartoon Forum was the culmination of more than a decade of work to put Armenia on the radar of international buyers. 

Alphabet Heroes.

He’s been running the ReA film festival in October for the past 16 years, and the upcoming 2024 edition will screen about 350 programs—mostly short films, with some features in the mix as well. The event’s pre-MIPCOM timing has helped it attract some major films looking to make a splash over the years, says Kassouny. 

With the festival chugging away and with some animation service experience under his belt, Kassouny is now eager to showcase ReAct’s first original series. Alphabet Heroes revolves around three kids who use magical letters to create objects they dream up in their imaginations to do battle against a king who wants to spread ignorance around the world. 

Armenia Public TV signed a letter of interest in the project ahead of Cartoon Forum, but wants to see the pilot before it commits to the full series. ReAct is in pre-production on that pilot now, and is hoping to deliver it in April 2025, with the goal of putting the series into production next September. About 30% of the US$1.4-million budget is still pending, and the National Cinema Center of Armenia is supporting the project. 

Armenians shouldn’t be ignored as a demo, says Kassouny, as they represent a broad diaspora estimated at between eight million and 10 million worldwide.