EXCLUSIVE: France‘s Folivari is establishing a global distribution arm for its toons.
The firm has employed former Dandelooo acquisitions and gross sales exec Melissa Vega to move up the division, which shall be known as Folivari International. The launch comes as Folivari celebrates its tenth birthday.
Its first two titles shall be unique collection Nino Dino and Kiki & Ailen. The former follows a temperamental Tyrannosaurus rex, who has adventures along with his buddies Cléa, Max, Alfred and Zéphyrine. Kiki & Ailen follows two naïve younger extraterrestrials who misconstrue every thing they see on Earth and wish their adopted duck good friend to assist them avert ensuing disasters.
The distributor can also be engaged on a slate of third-party acquisitions of “demanding” animated content material with “strong international potential.”
Vega is a co-founder of the unit alongside Folivari bosses Damien Brunner, Sarah Delmas and Thibaut Ruby. She has 13 years’ expertise in animation and children content material, together with 10 years at one other French animation agency, Dandelooo, the place she labored on creating its distribution enterprise and managing acquisitions and gross sales of reveals akin to Ernest and Celestine, Royals Next Door and Pompon Little Bear. At Folivari International, she shall be Head of Distribution and Acquisitions.
She joins Folivari at a tricky time for the feted French animation sector, which has seen gross sales falling to ranges not seen since 2015. A Unifrance report protecting 2022 present a 5.3% fall to $61.7M as world rights offers fell away.
Folivari has been a key participant within the panorama since 2014, when Damien and and Didier Brunner, the producer of cult French animated movie The Triplets of Belleville, and Ruby created the enterprise. Delmas joined in 2015 as Head of Development, and it went on to provide the likes of The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017) and The Summit of the Gods (2021), which each gained a César Award and a Prix Lumière for Best Animated Feature Film, in addition to TV reveals akin to Ernest & Celestine: The Collection and Samsam: Cosmic Adventures, which is presently being broadcast in France.
In 2018, Folivari launched animation studio FOST, based mostly in Paris and Angoulême, which focuses on 2D animation and pre-production for 3D initiatives. Since launch it has labored on movies akin to Wolfwalkers for Apple TV+), My Father’s Dragon for Netflix, The Summit of the Gods and A Trip to Gibberitia for Studiocanal) in addition to TV collection Stillwater for Apple TV+, Splinter Cell for Netflix and Silly Sundays for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Folivari and FOST have long been on my radar as one of the most major and trusted animation companies and studios in France,” stated Vega. “It is an honour to join the team to not only ensure that its award-winning original content reaches more audiences globally, but to also use my experience to source the most high-quality animated content for Folivari International’s exciting slate in 2024 and beyond.”