Jiri Sadek

Director and exec producer
Cofilm
Czech Republic

Pitching: Baldies
 
What is the biggest issue facing the animation industry?
On a global level, variety in animation is great but, at the same time, it’s very hard to build new brands when the industry is already so fragmented. There are so many VoD platforms that the chance of building something like Paw Patrol is practically impossible these days.

What is your company doing in response to this?
We are going to find topics that are socially important. The series we are presenting at Cartoon Forum, for example, is focused on kids with cancer. It’s a global topic, because it doesn’t matter who you are – if you are black, if you are Asian, if you are poor, if you are rich – you can get cancer.

What impact could the pandemic have on the animation industry in the long term?
There will be a lot of pressure on animation in the next year because the situation with live action is very unstable right now with Covid-19. We will see a lot of adult animation in the next few years because no insurance company will give their services to live action in countries where the virus is present. I also think we will turn more towards virtual production, which will allow more space for creativity in the industry.

How are SVoD services changing the animation industry?
Because VoD platforms can target specific audiences, they can provide opportunities to different creative groups than we have seen in the past. The animation industry is not just for kids anymore and we are seeing a lot of animation focused on different ethnic groups, for example in Eastern Europe, while I’m really looking forward to seeing more African animation.

Tell us about the project you are pitching at Cartoon Forum.
Baldies (13×7′) is a hybrid series for kids struggling with cancer. Eliska Podzimkova, the director and writer of the series, is a former patient and was looking for a project that would be helpful for patients and their families to understand how treatment works so they are less scared of it. We are coproducing with Bejuba Entertainment and we are in serious discussions with potential copro and broadcast partners in Belgium and France.