A handful of kids content producers in Belgium and Australia just got an early Christmas gift in the form of new funding.

Screen Flanders in Belgium is investing US$3.4 million in 15 new projects, representing US$1.6 million more than this round of projects was originally expected to get. But the quality of applications, and a high demand for funds, motivated the Flemish government to up its investment and support eight more projects than it planned to. The kids series it’s investing in are:

• Little Heroes (pictured), an animated co-production for six- to nine-year-olds from Fabrique Fantastique (Interstellar Ella, Sir Mouse) and Spain’s Peekaboo Animation that highlights historical figures. VRT/Ketnet and RTVE/Clan are on board to air it.
• Look Who’s Visiting Tummy Tom! from Eyeworks Film & TV Drama is the third feature-length film in a preschool-skewing trilogy based on Jet Boeke’s picture book series about a cat. Kineopolis Film Distribution will release the film in Flanders, with Ketnet to follow up with a TV launch, and Incredible Film is distributing it worldwide.
• Live-action film Gorgius from Harald House Belgium is based on a book by Italian author Angela Nanetti about a group of kids who discover an unusual and potentially dangerous creature in their neighborhood. Minerva Pictures is distributing the pic in Italy and handling international sales.

All 15 projects are collectively expected to generate more than US$28.7 million in eligible expenditure in the Flanders region. Each one in this round will get roughly US$58,000 to US$465,000 in funding.

Meanwhile, in Australia, 47 projects have been selected to share around US$721,000 in funding connected to the Screen NSW Development Program. Two children’s titles are part of this funding round, which offers up to US$32,000 to each project.

• Animated preschool series Anvi’s Animals from Rolla Entertainment follows a character on a recce of the animal kingdom.
• It’s not clear what the second kids project is. But in the 2024/2025 period, Screen NSW funded Little Creatures, a live-action/animated hybrid series inspired by writer Sam Cotton’s comedic TikTok videos about a tiny animated girl and her dad; and the animated feature film Monkey Base from Australia’s SLR Productions and Sinking Ship in Canada.