Ibermedia Next will support digital animation projects

IBERMEDIA NEXT has opened its call for applications for its next line of funding . The initiative, which is framed within the IBERMEDIA Program and is financed with NextGenerationEU funds, proposes grants of up to €150,000 and a support program valued at up to €95,000 for digital animation or live-action projects that include a high percentage of animation.The call is open until 21 August and is aimed at Spanish, Portuguese and Italian production companies that co-develop projects with companies and/or creators from the Ibero-American region.

“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.”

The period for receiving applications for the IBERMEDIA NEXT funding will continue until August 21, 2023, open to prototypes, teasers, pilots, short films and videoclips are eligible, among other options. The minimum project duration must be five minutes and it must use new technological tools for animation and/or open code tools in its development. The final result of these projects will be traditional audiovisual content, virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR) or augmented reality (AR). Digital animation or hybrid projects are admitted, as long as the latter include at least 75% animation in the footage.

An innovative initiative of the IBERMEDIA Program, IBERMEDIA NEXT is framed within the “Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe” Component 25 of the European Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and is financed by NextGenerationEU funds.

After careful consultation with the sector, these grants have been designed according to the needs of Ibero-American and Italian companies and creators that work in digital content and seek to explore the possibilities of new technologies, which need to find funding to continue creating, establish a solid network of contacts in the sector, or have a presence in the right contexts to make their work known.

The official presentation of Ibermedia Next took place at the sixth edition of the Quirino Ibero-American Animation Awards, held in San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Tenerife. This organisation, in partnership with Ibermedia Next together with The Ibero-American Animation League, has become one of the key events for the sector. During the event, the importance of these new grants to promote the development of animation projects in the region was emphasised.