^{Still: Vincent by Fabie Hulsebos}

The Netherlands Film Fund and EYE International will be out in force at Annecy’s International Animation Film Market (MIFA) in June. Their key objective will be to present the Netherlands’ burgeoning feature animation scene and also tout the territory’s potential as a co-pro partner on feature-length animation works.

“Along with EYE, we’ve taken a stand in the market” says Film Fund animation consultant Peter Lindhout. “We want to talk about how the Netherlands can be a serious partner in European co-productions, present some of our producers and studios and also attempt to connect them with counterparts from other countries.”

Dutch producers due to attend as part of the initiative include filmmaker and producer Rosto, who is also screening his latest short Splintertime in festival competition, and Bruno Felix of Amsterdam-based Submarine. Also in attendance will be Thomas Hietbrink of Pedri Animation, the leading animation production house il Luster, Albert ‘t Hooft of 2d animation company Anikey (Triple Trouble, 2014) and Jolanda Junte of the prolific BosBros.

The Film Fund will also take part in MIFA’s Meet the Funds event aimed at connecting production companies and funds. Lindhout says the co-production drive is linked to both the Fund’s new 30% cash rebate (Film Production Incentive) launched at Cannes 2014, as well as the on-going campaign to build a successful feature-length animation industry in the Netherlands.

The Dutch have long been respected for their vibrant animated shorts, producing a number of Oscar nominees and winners in the animated shorts category, including Michaël Dudok de Wit’s 2000 winner Father and Daughter and 2014 nominee A Single Life.

Few of the shorts animators succeeded, however, in crossing over into feature-length work. But this has changed. In 2009, the Fund introduced a number of measures aimed at taking local animators to the next level, such as ring-fencing funding for a least one feature-length animation per year and introducing a €50,000 grant for the production of animatics.

“The Fund decided to systematically support the development and production of animated features,” says Lindhout, resulting in three features in two years – Miffy the Movie (2013), Triple Trouble and Pim and Pom – the Big Adventure (both 2014). ”We now have more than 15 projects in different stages of development and production. It is definitely something which is really growing and the Production Incentive we introduced is also a strong support for this business,” says Lindhout.

“We’re starting to be part of this European animated feature co-pro market. More than say even live action, animation is something you want to co-produce -- with the right subject-matter it can cross borders more easily,” he adds.

Dutch initiated projects in production include Fabie Hulsebos’s Van Gogh biopic Vincent, based on Barbara Stok’s graphic novel about the tragic artist. It is a €2.5m co-production between Submarine and Belgian outfit Walking the Dog. Other projects include comic book adaptation Heinz by Piet Kroon, who previously worked on hits such as Despicable Me and Rio; Erik van Schaaik’s Hieronymus, a portrait of the 15th century artist as a young boy and Rosto’s Mind My Gap. Mascha Halberstad’s Oink’s Revenge, produced by Marleen Slot of Viking Film, is about a girl who wants to keep her pet pig out of the sausage factory.

Another exciting project is the big-budget The Little Vampire 3D, produced by Chris Brouwer (Miffy the Movie) of First Look BV and adapted from Angela Sommer-Bodenburg’s best-selling novels.