Ibermedia Next Grants Are Now Available To Iberoamerican Productions
Are you ready to apply for an Ibermedia Next grant? The grants are intended to support the implementation of new technologies in the creation processes of digital animation pieces or hybrid pieces that include a high percentage of animation.
“We carefully listened to the demands of the sector,” explains Víctor Herreruela, coordinator of the program which was developed to modernize a field that he considers “strategic for the future of the Ibero-American audiovisual industry.”
For him, one of the primary virtues of the Ibermedia Next program is that “it hosts pilot projects that support productions other than those traditionally supported by the Ibermedia program.”
Under the auspices of the program and financed with funds from NextGenerationEU, Ibermedia Next is part of Component 25 ‘Spain Audiovisual Hub of Europe’ of the European Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan. Its position means that the program also benefits from collaboration with the Quirino Awards for Ibero-American Animation and the Ibero-American Animation League, composed of the Quirino Awards, Animation! at Ventana Sur, and Mexico’s Pixelatl Festival.
Some of the main goals for this pioneering line of grants, as Quirino Awards executive producer José Luis Farias describes, are “to create networking opportunities for companies and professionals and to simulate and train business skills and technological skills.” This will be the first time in Ibermedia’s history that support is given to formats for demonstration purposes, such as prototypes or teasers, in addition to digital pilots, short films, or video clips. According to Farias, the introduction of the program has resulted in “a very experimental grant.”
Economic contribution and professional accompaniment for creative companies and professionals:
Ibermedia Next went live on the program’s website on May 12 of this year, coinciding with the sixth Quirino Prizes in San Cristóbal de la Laguna (Tenerife, Spain). Shortly after, Ibermedia Next representatives attended another key meeting, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. There, under the aegis of its International Film Market MIFA, Ibermedia Next promoted synergies among professionals and organized conferences and networking activities.
These kinds of activities at the most important international events in the animation sector are planned to be part of the training, consulting, promotion, and dissemination program – with an economic value of up to €95,000 ($104,000) – that complements the economic contribution of up to €150,000 ($164,000) that the selected projects will receive in this first line of grants. Recent industry events such as the Quirino Prizes or Annecy are an example of the networking opportunities that they will be able to take advantage of, including the events of the whole Ibero-American Animation League.
This first line of grants will be opened to prototypes, teasers, pilots, short films, or video clips with a minimum length of five minutes that make use of new technological tools for animation or open-source software during their development. The final result of these pieces must be animated or traditional audiovisual content in VR, XR or AR. To qualify, at least 75% of the footage in the finished production must be animated.
Ibermedia Next Plaza, a first step to network and find partners:
“We will help the future leaders of the sector to develop their full potential thanks to this funding, but also through our program of support, consulting, communication and promotion,” declares Herreruela, adding that Ibermedia Next Plaza gives the artists “more opportunities to create their own network.” For practical purposes it’s the beginning of the process: all participants must sign up in Plaza and fill in their applications before putting together a team and applying with their projects.
In this free platform, businesses and production companies from Spain, Italy, and Portugal can network and get in touch with other companies and creators from all the member states of the Ibermedia Next program. It is a free tool for the industry set up by Ibermedia Next to facilitate meetings between professionals in the sector. When the submission period ends on August 21, 2023, and after the subsequent resolution of the call for proposals in November, creators and producers will be able to check the status of each candidacy on the website: www.ibermedianext.com.
To ensure that these grants are awarded using a fair competitive system, Ibermedia Next has appointed a team of consultants that will be responsible for evaluating and consulting each finalist project. This five professionals are Luís Belerique (Portugal), lead artist at Tequila Works; Rosario Carlino (Argentina), CEO of OSA Estudio and animation teacher at ENERC and the Blaise Pascal University; Alejandra Luzardo (Venezuela), manager for Innovation – Creative Economy & Public Policy IADB; Raúl García (Spain), writer, director, and producer, Academy member in the U.S. and Spain, and WGA and ASIFA-Hollywood member; and Aïda del Solar (Peru), teacher at Gobelins L’École de L’image and art and creative director at Cnam-Enjmin (Angoulême, France).
Ibermedia Next launches with the commitment to enable progress in the application of new technologies to digital animation, stimulating experimentation by companies and creators. Do not get left behind, and if you know companies and creators in Iberoamerica and Italy that may be interested, let them know!
