Eye Present links up with illustrator

UK producer Eye Present has teamed up with French illustrator Tomi Ungerer and his daughter’s fledgling production company to coproduce animated content together.

Genevieve Dexter

London-based studio Eye Present, which was set up by Genevieve Dexter and production outfit Squint/Opera in 2014, is working with Irish indie Pictor Productions on a prequel to Ungerer’s book Flix.

The book, which was first published by Switzerland’s Diogenes Publishing House in 1997, follows a young pug dog who is being brought up in a place called Cat Town by cat parents.

The pug, who enjoys visits to see his Dogfather in Dog Town, likes his cultural mix and deflects any criticism with great one-liners and a few clever pranks.

An illustration from Ungerer’s book Flix

“Looking through all of Tomi’s work, Flix is the book we all identified as having the most potential. The premise provides endless humour and inventiveness for this little dog living in the world of cats and, of course, contains allegories that touch every kid,” said Aria Ungerer, founder of Pictor Productions and daughter of Tomi.

“Flix is about making the best of your differences. We are all equal and we are all different. Everyone has something to offer. Flix shows us that with comedy you can overcome any dogstacle,” said Tomi Ungerer.

Pictor Productions, set up primarily to bring Tomi Ungerer’s many books to the screen, has no relation to the French animation house Pictor Media, which was acquired recently by Cyber Group Studios.

Jules Coke, producer at Eye Present, said the company will take early development materials to Animation Production Day in Stuttgart this month and MIFA in Annecy in June to “find the right format and target for this title.”