CANADA AND AUSTRALIA’S national public broadcasters CBC and ABC announced yesterday they have teamed up to create the Kindred ABC/CBC Animation Collaboration, a joint initiative to fund new children’s animated projects.
This initiative builds on the existing collaborative relationship between the two public broadcasters, which are now in search of “world-class, unique, creatively ambitious animation ideas to develop, with the potential for a future co-commission,” a press release explains.
Canadian and Australian creators and producers will be able to apply to participate from March 28, 2022, to May 16, 2022. (Please click here for details about the application process.)
CBC and ABC are looking for projects featuring “a fresh, innovative and artistic animation style,” and that will appeal to audiences in both Canada and Australia, the release says.
Proposed projects should either appeal to tweens 10-14 years old and feature a female character-driven narrative or compelling ensemble cast or they should be for preschoolers and should “explore an aspect of early childhood development that is not well represented in the current landscape, with core values including comedy, kindness and empathy.”
CBC and ABC are looking for “strong, unique and demonstrable senses of voice, story, setting and character,” and they “expect the diversity of the story world and characters to be reflected in the creative team and that integrated and meaningful collaboration will occur throughout the creative process,” according to the press release.
“Kids’ content is essential to public service media,” said Catherine Tait, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, in the release. “At CBC/Radio-Canada, we’re committed to finding and nurturing exceptional programming for children and youth, and the Kindred Animation Collaboration with ABC will help us do just that. In a world where content is exploding, these kinds of collaborations are essential to public broadcasters’ ability to compete.”
“The Kindred Animation Collaboration is an exciting opportunity to further the ABCs outstanding reputation for delivering engaging content for children and young people,” said David Anderson, ABC’s managing director.
“In an increasingly crowded market, the ABC is committed to ensuring our world-class programming is not lost in the mix. We’re delighted to be partnering with the CBC in this important initiative which will undoubtedly deliver creative ideas aligned to our shared values and relevant to all our audiences.”
For more, please click here.
