Cartoon Forum goes forward with live event

The annual European animation pitch fest will move forward with safety measures in place, but Ottawa International Animation Festival has opted to go virtual.
June 17, 2020

Cartoon Forum, the annual European animation co-production event, is still planning to go ahead with a live event in September. Set to take place in Toulouse, France, the event is planning a considerable number of changes to make it safer and more pandemic-friendly.

Running from September 14 to 17, online registrations are open today for Cartoon Forum “in real life.” Currently, the French government is allowing events with less than 5,000 participants to go ahead and the country has also opened its borders to anyone within Europe. As of press time, no one outside of Europe will be able to attend the event.

“We do not know today what the situation will be at the time of Cartoon Forum in mid-September 2020,” says a Cartoon Forum spokesperson in a press release. “Will the virus be completely gone? Will the treatment have been proven? And will a vaccine already be on the market? No one knows for sure.”

The event is restructuring to focus on face-to-face business first, meaning that all of the social aspects are cancelled. There won’t be lunches together in the restaurant at the venue or a welcome or farewell dinner. Pitches will continue on as normal in slightly different rooms that accommodate 260, 215 and 160 attendees in staggered seats. More information about the changes and safety regulations can be found on the Cartoon Forum website.

To account for all of the changes, the price has been reduced to US$953, a US$170 drop from the usual US$1,122 ticket.

Meanwhile, Ottawa International Animation Festival has made the decision to move its annual event online. Running from September 23 to October 4, the team is researching the best platform to showcase the films to an international audience while incorporating a social component. It plans to still have artist talks, workshops and a chance to virtually meet with schools and recruiters. More information is available on the OIAF website.

Many events this year have fallen casualty to the COVID-19 pandemic, including MIPTV, Licensing Expo and Annecy’s animation festival and market MIFA, to name a few.

About The Author
Alexandra Whyte is Kidscreen's News & Social Media Editor. Contact her at awhyte@brunico.com

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