Guests 2019
Heather is part of Citizen Skull Productions, an independent production company specializing in television and feature production. She coordinates Citizen Kids, a division of Citizen Skull, focused on children’s entertainment. She is also a creative consultant, some of her clients are Discovery Kids Latin America, Kid Glove Creative, Portfolio Entertainment and Cinema Fantasma. As Vice-President at Starz Animation Toronto, she produced ``9`` and ``Gnomeo and Juliet``. Previously, she had been Sr. Director of Development of Original Series at Cartoon Network.
She began her professional career at Acteurs Auteurs Associés in Paris where she joined Président Films, an export company of French films, as Technical and Export Manager. She later continued in the same position in the Film department at France Télévisions Distribution in Paris. At the beginning of 2005, she joined the CITIA team. She spent her first four years working as Sales Assistant for MIFA before taking on the job of Sales Manager until 2011, then of MIFA's Head of Projects until 2018, in charge of developing and marketing the spaces and events for the film Market. Since July 2018, Véronique Encrenaz is Head of MIFA, under the authority of Mickael Marin,CEO of Citia.
Charlotte worked as a production manager for various projects in Paris, before moving to Copenhagen and joining Sun Creature in 2014. She is currently producing several major animated projects such as the Original Cartoon Network series ``The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe``, and the animated documentary FLEE. She shares her experience in production and crowd-funding in talks and lectures around Europe.
Jan-Willem Bult is a multiple awarded international film and tv maker from the Netherlands. His work is known by his philosophy ‘Children in the Centre’, based on a strong belief in the autonomy of children and anarchy in content. Since 2014 he is fully dedicated to create, produce and support internationally, mostly outside Europe. His work has expanded now to over 60 countries worldwide. Before 2014 Jan-Willem Bult was a.o. the creative head of KRO Netherlands Public Broadcasting for 16 years in which he created and produced over 125 films, programs and series and was the head of several terrestrial and digital channels.
Alison just finished her third season writing on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series, ``BoJack Horseman``, serving as Executive Story Editor in the show’s final season. Additionally, she's a Colorado-born comedy writer who has trained and performed with Second City Chicago, Upright Citizens Brigade Los Angeles, Improv Olympic Chicago and The Groundlings. In 2016, she was one of six writers selected from 1100 applications to attend the NBC Late Night Comedy Writers Workshop in New York, and she is currently a finalist for the 2019 Humanitas New Voices Award for her pilot “A Little Much.” Alison resides in North Hollywood with her civilian husband, Zach, and their two cats Story and Typo. Her manager is Brendan Bragg at Haven Entertainment.
Bianca oversees the international sales strategy of the CAKE catalogue (which includes successful franchises such as Angry Birds and Total Drama Island), and handles sales of new content. With over 14 years’ experience in production and distribution of TV content, having previously worked for companies in Spain and the UK (such as MediaPro), she has worked in international positioning of series such as Pocoyo and Scholastic titles.
Lina is an Executive Producer/Creator with extensive experience in international marketing and business management. Lina has worked with artists, producers, publishing houses, and broadcasters all around the world, developing original IPs for international audiences, and as a Consultant for the localization of animation and live-action shows across non-English and English speaking territories. Her TV credits include Script Producer for pre-school hit Pocoyo (S4); Producer Attachment for Australian NBCU’s Matchbox Pictures; and Director/Writer/Voice-over artist for factual shows “Animal Mania” and “Reino Animal” (NatGeo Kids LatAm).
Freelance production and international sales and acquisitions consultant with more than 10 years of work experience in the film industry. Sales Manager at Sola Media GmbH, company specialized in high-quality children's films and family entertainment with a strong focus on animation features. Since 2014, Barbie is also a member of the consulting team in the Film Marketing Coaching program at FOCAL. Additionally, she works as a script coach.
Founder of UniKo. He won 190 awards at Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, Clermont-Ferrand, Annecy, Chicago, and Foyle festivals. Some of his most important projects are the animated short films ``Birdboy`` (2012 Goya Award), ``Sangre de Unicornio`` (2017 Goya Award), ``La Noche`` and ``Soy una tumba``. He participated in ``Psiconautas, los niños olvidados`` (Goya Award for Best Animated Film in 2017 and nominated for the European Film Awards in the same category). Two of his projects have been selected for ICAA's ``Shorts from Spain`` catalogue as one of the ten best short films from the country. He is currently working in the production of the animated feature film ``Unicorn Wars`` and the short films ``Loop`` (Pablo Polledri, Argentina) and ``Homeless Home`` (Alberto Vázquez).
Welaw Consulting is a firm specialized in entertainment law, specifically in Spanish and international audiovisual law. Francisco is advisor on international audiovisual law, international co-productions, and administrative requirements, whether it is in Latin American, English, European and/ or Asian areas, always minding the respective co-production agreements. He also advises on legal aspects of funding sources for audiovisual projects, including tax shelter and tax rebate structures. He has been academic coordinator for the Master’s Degree on Film Industry Management at Carlos III University of Madrid, and he is currently giving lectures at universities or film institutes such as ESCAC at Catalunya.
José Iñesta has a passion for art, technology and human beings. He believes that creative industries, animation especially, can be a driving force for development, dignity and reconciliation for Latin America. Founder of Pixelatl, an association looking to spark off and promote Mexican creative industries in the world by creating alliances with organisms interested in the audiovisual ecosystem. He has been member of the jury for several animation festivals and he is director of Animotora, a business incubator conceived and designed to identify, teach and support creative entrepreneurs willing to venture to the international industry.
Founder and creator of Paramotion Films, which has focused in animation, event organisation, digital post-production and audiovisual training since 2002. Creator and Director of 3D Wire, Animation, Video Games and New Media International Market (Segovia, Spain), which is already in its eleventh edition. Creator and Director of the Quirino Awards for Ibero-American Animation (2018-2019), and Co-creator and Co-director of Bridging the Gap – Animation Lab (2015-2018). Ambassador in Spain for the EEA - European Animation Emile Awards. As adviser and consultant, he has collaborated with institutions such as Consejo de la Cultura de Chile, Proimágenes Colombia, Pixelatl (Mexico), Ruta N Medellín (Colombia) and SPET Turismo de Tenerife, among others.
Producer of the Quirino Awards for Ibero-American Animation, an initiative created in 2017 to acknowledge the best in animation from the region and generate cooperation between the countries. She is also Coordinator of 3D Wire, Animation, Video Games and New Media International Market (Segovia, Spain), held for the last 11 years in Segovia, Spain. She is also producer of Bridging the Gap, international Animation Lab for feature films and series.
Director of animated series and short films with vast experience in animation for advertising. Winner of the 2011 Pedro Sienna National Animation Award for ``S.11`` among many other international awards and acknowledgements. President of CHILEMONOS Foundation. Creator, Editor and Art Director of Chilemonos International Animation Festival, MAI! Animation Market, Animaccion, Monocycle Distribution, Solomonos Magazine, Solomonos TV, ReelDay, Monos en Short, and Animadores del Mundo, among others.
Director of LatAm cinema, portal specialized in the Latin American film industry. His experience in the animation sector began in Europe in 2005; he worked as Head of Press in Cartoon Forum and Cartoon Movie, events organized by the European Animation Producers Association. He is currently collaborating with the project lab Bridging the Gap, with the Quirino Awards, and as co-programmer of Latin American short filma at Animazine in the Malaga Film Festival.
He comes from the digital world, where he has over 14 years of experience working on web/TV integrated projects. He is in charge of managing children’s productions and co-productions and interactive developments for Radio Televisión Española Corporation. During his professional career, he has worked as editor for interactive and online areas of important audiovisual companies such as Fox Kids Europe and Jetix Entertainment Spain. He specialized in digital strategy and transmedia approach for children’s entertainment.
Graduate of a Master's degree of Marketing and Distribution of the Audiovisual Media from INA SUP, Frédéric Gentet is currently in charge of sales for animated feature films and series at the production and distribution company Millimages. Before joining the Millimages sales team, he held the positions of DVD Project Manager at Naive and International Sales Manager for the feature films distribution companies Reel Suspects and Wide.
After working 2 years at Planet Nemo Animation as production assistant in Paris, Melissa worked at Televideo (Bogota) for a year, managing audiovisual content for a kids online platform. She arrived at Dandelooo in 2013 and is now in charge of international sales for Latin America, Asia and Middle East regions. From November 1st, 2018 Melissa is managing Dandelooo's Barcelona office and became a partner in the company.
Producer, animation talents' agent and coordinator of the Polish Quality project. In 2010, she joined Se-ma-for studio as events coordinator, production manager and line producer until 2015. Co-founder of Momakin, she is currently acting as executive producer and agency coordinator at Momakin and as representative of the Polish Quality project promoting Polish artists. The Polish Quality project aims at the worldwide presentation of Polish artists and service-providing companies working in the animation industry, contributing to international film production and especially to stop-motion animation. Coorganizer of Animarkt Stop Motion Forum. Member of Polish Filmmakers Association and Polish Animation Producers Association.
Senior TV and entertainment executive for over 20 years, Paula was the creative mind behind Globo Group's kids content hub, with channels Gloob and Gloobinho. With extensive experience on children's content, Paula launched Gloob in 2012 and its preschool recent venture, Gloobinho, in 2017. As Head of Content, Development and Programming, Paula was in charge of the channels' original and international production and coproduction. She also managed deal-making partnerships, programming strategy and content sales. Under her leadership, Gloob has experienced remarkable growth in ratings since its debut, becoming the 3rd biggest Pay TV channel amongst Brazilian kids in less than 5 years of existence. She has also contributed with her work in channels such as ``Multishow``, ``Bis`` and ``Off``, having taken an active part in the conception and launch of the latter; TV Globo; Canal Futura; TV Brasil and RioFilm, besides acting as a consultant on projects such as the Brazilian Kids Film Festival, and as jury member on festivals and awards like Banff World Media, Anima Mundi and lnternational Emmy Awards. In 2017, Paula was granted the World Screen Kids Trendsetter Award, which recognized her as one of the prominent voices in international children’s content.
Producer specialized in animation with experience in short films for TV, music videos and children's content. He is artistic director of the Pixelatl Mexican Association, where he handles content for the Festival, Ideatoon, Bootcamp, Secuenciarte and VMX Videogame showroom. Freelance animation journalist for publications in the US, Mexico and Spain. He is charge of contents for Sublime Jalisco by AJIC + CCD + Pixelatl.
Camilla began her career as a freelance journalist before moving into producing and directing TV documentaries and arts programmes. She joined the Arts and Music department of Channel 4 in 1999 where she was editor, Arts & Animation. Camilla left Channel 4 in 2002 to set up Lupus Films with friend and colleague Ruth Fielding. Together they have developed the company to become one of the UK’s leading animation studios, producing high quality film entertainment for children and families. In addition to her work running Lupus Films, Camilla has produced and executive produced a number of award-winning short films for Channel 4 and the UK Film Council.
Antoine Rivière is the director of Ecole Emile Cohl, A reference art school created in France in Lyon in 1984 by his Father Philippe Rivière. Earlier in his career, Antoine was a corporate and artistic intellectual property attorney for 9 years in France. Raised in an artistic environment, Antoine is now focused on the international development of Emile Cohl art school.
Frédérique graduated from Emile Cohl School in 1991. Her 19-year-old career has been dedicated to gaming, having held all art positions in the video game production, from 3D artist to studio graphic team manager. Moreover, Frédérique co-founded the video game studio Etranges Libellules and she has also worked on many games including Alone in the Dark 2 and 3, VRally, Asterix & Obelix, The Legend of Spyro, Dragons, etc. Then she decided to share her knowledge of the 3D world and video games through teaching, now becoming the education coordinator at Emile Cohl School.
Lucas Arechaga is Operations and Programming Strategy Director for Cartoon Network, Boomerang y Tooncast in Latin America. In this role, he is in charge of selecting programmable contents for Turner’s children’s brands in all its multi-platform ecosystem, with a focus on the development of linear and non-linear platforms, and on the search of new opportunities to bring contents closer to fans.
She is the Regional Senior Marketing Director for Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Tooncast Latin America, and responsible for the Kids team in Argentina. She is in charge of the development, leadership and implementation of marketing strategies, including TV, Digital, Mobile, Licensing, Marketing, Ad sales, Acquisitions, Original production, and Social Media for the whole region. She has wide experience in the pay TV and children's entertainment industries, with a focus on strategic planning, product development and team leadership. She joined Turner Broadcasting System in 2004, performing production and coordination tasks for news and children's channels.
Graduated in advertising. She has wide experience in the broadcast and pay TV industries with a focus on project development and coordination. She worked 7 years for Cuatro Cabezas, and then she joined Fox, coordinating the Onair department for Fox and Fox Life. She began working in FOX FACTORY as executive supervisor of panregional production and contents. As a freelancer, her first job in animation was for Juan José Campanella's company, working as executive producer in an animation project, then in a superheroes show for PAKAPAKA, and from then directly to MUNDO LOCO, the production company behind Metegol, where she learned from the best everything she knows about animation, becoming executive and content producer of the studio's most important project, MINI BEAT POWER ROCKERS.
Industrial designer and producer. She worked in post-production for advertising, TV series and feature films (Profilms, Videocolor, Mediabyte, Patagonik, Metrovisión) and she was producer and animation manager at Patagonik for projects such as ``Dibu``, ``Los Pintín``, ``Condor Crux``, ``Patoruzito``, ``El Ratón Pérez`` I and II, ``El Arca``. In 2009 she was jury member at Annecy International Animation Festival 2009 (France). Since 2010, she has been CEO of Metrovision (Grupo Cinecolor), and worked as general producer of ``El jardín de Clarilú``, Disney Jr, Emmy International Kids Awards 2013 winner in the Pre-School category; ``Playground``, ``Morko y Mali``, ``Nivis, amigos de otro mundo``.
She has a degree in Communication sciences and she is in charge of content selection and acquisitions for the company channels and negotiations on purchase contracts for these contents. Some of her responsibilities are the permanent contact with distributors and international producers for series, and searching for contents available in the market on the basis of the channels’ needs. She was previously Head of communications and press of CAPIF, project manager at E-volution agency, and Head of programming for the premium signals in Claxson.
In her position as Production Manager of Discovery Networks Latin America, Soledad Yáñez supervises the development of original productions for the children’s channel Discovery Kids. Among other projects, she is in charge of the successful series “Mini Beat Power Rockers” and “El mundo de Luna”. She has over 14 years of experience in media, on which she worked as executive producer, making projects for Discovery Kids, such as the shows “Veloz Mente” and ”Hi5 Fiesta”. Previously, she has worked as producer for GP Media/BBC WorldWide, developing her projects in multiple formats for Telefe, América TV, Gourmet.com and TV Pública, among others. She has a degree in production and direction for radio and television from Universidad de Morón.
She is an Image and Sound Designer graduated from Universidad de Buenos Aires. In 2012, Florencia joined the sales team at FilmSharks, where she specialized in Latin American and Spanish films. In 2014, she was featured in the ``Future Leaders`` list by Screen Daily Magazine during Cannes Festival. In 2017, she moved to Los Angeles to take part in the Business and Management of Entertainment program at UCLA Extension. While studying, she collaborated with companies such as AMBI Distribution and Blue Fox Entertainment. Since 2019, she works as an international sales executive for CMG.
She is focus on the right of information, the possibilities of Arts and the power of the storytelling. Member of national and international juries, festivals and conferences in Japan, Germany, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, among others. She has created and produced several programes such us CONTRASEÑA VERDE I and II (Latin-production involving a 7 countries of the region for the Goethe-Institut)-, Strong Stories x Strong Children (Project directed by Maya Goetz for Prix Jeunesse Foundation, involving so far more than 20 countries) She moderates debates, offers lectures and workshops on children's television in his country and abroad. Is a trainer of 'WADADA news for kids`` format, a project of Free Press Unlimited (Nederlands) with versions in 15 countries around the world. And a professor at the ``MediaLab Visual`` at the University Complutense of Madrid, Spain. She is one of the founder members of ALA (Latin American Alliance Audiovisual) directed by Beth Carmona, Brazil.
Scriptwriter, content consultant and story editor specialized in animation and children’s content with 16 years of experience. Highlights among his work: “Paper Port”, “Pocoyó”, “Filly Funtasia” & “Horatio and the Plasticines”. He also has developed content for Disney xD, Cartoon Network LA, Discovery Kids & NatGeo Kids.