2019 Animation Masters Summit Set To Take Place In India

The 2019 edition of the Animation Masters Summit (AMS), an event bringing world-class animation professionals to India, coincides with the 20th anniversary of Toonz Media Group, the production and distribution company that organizes the event. This year’s Animation Masters Summit is scheduled for May 3-4 at the Technopark Campus in the city of Trivandrum, Kerala in Southern India.

Establish in 1999, AMS (previously known as “Week with the Masters”), it was the first significant animation industry event in the Asian country. Each year, Toonz brings in experts and leading figures working in animation from around the world to meet aspiring local talents. The sessions offer a space for seasoned artists to showcase their work and interact with attendees.

According to the event’s website, the purpose of the summit is to develop an ecosystem where knowledge is shared, which in turn creates an environment for animation to grow in India. The theme of the summit this year is “Connecting Content: Seeing the Big Picture,” which refers to creating properties that can succeed on a variety of platforms and that “build deeper engaging relationships by giving them an enhanced viewing experience.” This key topic will try to address the current fast-evolving media landscape, taking into account the numerous opportunities for digital and streaming distribution.

Confirmed guests for this year’s edition include:

• Christian Schneider, the creator of the evergreen Youtube viral hit I’m a Gummy Bear
• Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO of the interactive kids games company, Goldieblox
• Pete Dodd, writer, animation artist, and director who has worked on the recent Watership Down mini-series, Frankenweenie, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Corpse Bride
• Uttam Pal Singh, head of Discovery Kids India
• Srinivas Mohan, CEO of Brand Monk and vfx supervisor
• Vivek Ram, modeling and visual effects artist who has worked on The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Incredible Hulk, and Alvin and the Chipmunks
• Mayur Puri, screenwriter, lyricist, actor and filmmaker who works for Pixar, Disney and Marvel localizing content for India

This year, Toonz is also launching the Cocoon Concept Lab, a new program supporting authentic storytelling and ideas by providing individualized concept development for emerging concept creators and writers with a tv/digital series idea or screenplay. Selected projects will be presented at international markets to be further developed under the Toonz banner.