Funding and co-production - The case of an independent studio

Masterclass with Elena Ø Alexa, Diana Hențulescu, and Claus Toksvig Kjaer

There is no question that independent filmmaking is the way most European Studios are creating their content. This talk will focus on the aspects of funding animation both national and regional, but also go into more depth on what to prepare for when applying with your project.

How to plan productions 

Planning your productions is the first step to a smoother production process. Starting with the overall production plan you make together with your co-producers, afterward making a weekly plan for your team, and casting your team for each individual project based on the style you are producing is one of the keys to Nørlum success.

Elena Ø Alexa is a Romanian-Danish Animation film Producer. In 2013 she started working as a Production Assistant on the feature film Song Of The Sea. Since then she has been working on all the productions in Nørlum Studios including Longway North, Eddie Of The Realms Eternal, the first Season of Big Hero 6 - The Series, Calamity, and the latest co-production The Ape Star.

Diana Hențulescu is a Romanian-French Animation film Producer and Production Manager. As the co-founder of Moukda Production, she has produced the award-winning short film Umbrellas. She has worked as a Vfx Production Supervisor for blockbuster films such as Despicable Me 3 and The Secret Life of Pets, but also as a Project Leader of Season of the Force (Star Wars - Disneyland Paris), Summer of the Heroes (Marvel - Disneyland Paris).

Claus Toksvig Kjaer has over 20 years of experience within the field of animation whereas 10 years were spent producing animated content. Both as an independent creator but also servicing major studios such as Disney, Amazon Prime, and Fox. Focusing primarily on feature film production he partnered up with Nørlum Animation Studio in 2013 co-producing such films as the Oscar-nominated Song of the Sea for Cartoon Saloon and Long Way North for Sacrebleu and Maybe Movies.