More than a hundred digital animation experts meet up in Gran Canaria

On Thursday 9th December, Antonio Morales, President of the Island Council of Gran Canaria, opened the digital animation seminar, Cartoon Business. This event makes for the second time the island as a meeting place for more than a hundred specialists of the sector between production companies, investors, and TV channels, among other companies and entities.

Morales was accompanied in this opening by Cosme García, Managing  Director of the Corporation for the Economic Development of the Canary Islands (SPEGC), and by Nuria Guinnot, the Gran Canaria Film Commission coordinator. During his speech, he emphasized that they are actively focusing on attracting companies from the digital animation sector to Gran Canaria, as part of an economic diversification strategy.

“The overall growth of audiovisual industry demand, the development of new production processes, and the new distribution platforms, linked to the efforts we are doing through the Island Council, gives us great opportunities for reinforcing this industry and the related creation of skilled job opportunities”, noted Morales.

He also explained that Council areas of work are mainly focused on nurturing local talent, on giving to the new projects facilities and personalized services, but above all, on enhancing the use of tax incentives for international and national productions. These tax incentives are currently the most competitive in Europe.

As for Cosme García, he has highlighted the importance of Gran Canaria will once again host this major event, “allowing strategic alliances between the domestic sector and all the companies involved and also turning the island into a major film production scenario”.

García also explained the work that Gran Canaria Film Commission has developed for providing advice and assistance to companies interested to settle on the island. “It’s a program completely adjusted to each entity’s individual needs, a high-quality support service we give them before, during, and their post-arrival to Gran Canaria”.

In recent years, Gran Canaria has become a magnet for the animation industry. Currently, companies like Ánima, Fortiche, Birdland, or Koyi moved onto the island and from here they produce TV series like ‘Cleo y Cuquín’, ‘Arcane’, ‘Shark Academy’ or ‘Pocoyó’.

‘Cartoon Business 2021’

Promoted by Gran Canaria Council, in cooperation with Europa Creativa MEDIA and Gran Canaria Film Commission, the ‘Cartoon Business 2021’ event, will make Gran Canaria the focus of one of the biggest digital animations meetings, and also will give the island a significant repercussion.

This year’s edition will include several speakers as Charlie Cooper Henniker of The LEGO Group, Stefan Kastenmueller of Sesame Workshop, or Yago Fandiño of Radio Televisión Española (RTVE). Who will analyze together with other relevant speakers the future of the European animation business through such issues as public and private funding, the new business models, licensing and merchandising, digital opportunities, and legal matters, among other subjects.


The French studio Amuse opens in Gran Canaria the animation studio Birdland, which expects to generate 50 new jobs

The president of the Gran Canaria Island Council (Cabildo), Antonio Morales, and the president of the French Animation Studio Amuse, Arthur Lener, announced today the opening of a new animation studio named Birdland in Gran Canaria. Birdland expects to generate 50 new jobs in the next months, since it will be the main center of production of Amuse.

Birdland will execute the whole production chain from Gran Canaria and because of that it is searching designers, scriptwriters, artists of sound, translators, voice actors and other professionals. Lener hopes to start soon a new course for having the possibility to have the talent of Gran Canaria working in the new studio and making a good team of Gran Canaria workers.

Since its creation, Amuse has become a leader in producing and distributing kids’ content for the digital space and has contents in almost one hundred digital channels that count with more than 400 million visits in a month.  

Going one step further, Amuse now decides to settle in Gran Canaria because “Gran Canaria is the best place in Europe” for setting up due to its tax and investment advantages and because it offers a privileged environment for business and a great climate. 


Those attending ‘Cartoon Business’ will learn about the opportunities Gran Canaria offers the animation sector

Gran Canaria is committed to the audiovisual industry and, if proof of this were needed, it is the opening of 'Cartoon Business' today, an international event of reference in the animation business taking place on the island for the first time, and which will give the 130 persons registered the chance to learn about the opportunities Gran Canaria offers the animation sector.

The pleasant climate, tax incentives, equipment and infrastructure, are just some of the conditions that enable Gran Canaria to keep its firm commitment to film and animation as a way of diversifying the island's economy.

The event will address, over the course of 16 sessions, topics such as the new funding models that have emerged as a result of the changes in the distribution and production markets for the animation sector, and it will do so under the guidance of companies such as Youtube, Technicolor, the BBC, Radio Televisión Española, Lightbox Animation Studios and the publisher de Agostini.

The fact that 130 participants have attended is proof "that European producers are interested in coming here", said the training director at Cartoon, Yolanda Alonso.

This was the case with Ánima, one of the companies that participated in the eventand which has been developing projects from the facilities of the Corporation for the Economic Development of Gran Canaria (SPEGC) for the last two years with the aim of staying in the island "for a long time to come", according to the company's international sales and co-productions director, Miguel Aldasoro.

 ‘Cartoon Business’ is currently being held in Gran Canaria as part of the strategy to create a powerful audiovisual industry on the island and turn it into a European benchmark. The event brings the entire animation industry together, from buyers to producers and animators, and therefore becomes a high-level meeting point which this year will focus on licenses, goods and derived products.


Gran Canaria hosts the ‘Cartoon Business’ with 120 persons from 23 countries registered

Over 120 animation professionals from 23 countries have already registered to participate in ‘Cartoon Business’, an international event for the animation industry which has been held in the past in Ireland and the Netherlands and which will take place in Gran Canaria from 7th to 9th May.

‘Cartoon Business’ is a high profile seminar of great interest for attracting production companies who are involved in animation work and where the advantages of working in Gran Canaria can be explained.

Hosting this event in Gran Canaria is important both for the number persons registered as well as for the quality of the speakers, who represent companies such as Youtube, Technicolor, the BBC, Radio Televisión Española, Lightbox Animation Studios and the publisher, Agostini, among others.

The event, which this year focuses on licenses, goods and derived products, will address over 16 sessions subjects such as the new funding models that have emerged due to changes in the distribution and production markets in the animation industry.

Over the 3-day event at Cicca (Caja de Canarias Centre for Initiatives) professionals will be able to share their experiences to help animation companies incorporate new sources of revenue and develop new business models.

Investors, production companies for small and large businesses working with content aimed at children, specialists in funding and "new" partners in animation such as toymakers or book publishers, will participate in lectures, debates and presentations about successful cases which will help in managing budgets and improving the implementation of projects.