“The 6th Animation Support Program” Launching Ceremony

 “The 6^th Animation Support Program” Launching Ceremony

22 local animation start-ups and small animation enterprises

sponsored to create original animation works

Nurturing new talent and encouraging development of the animation industry

(Hong Kong, 12 September 2018) The 6^th Animation Support Program (6^th ASP), which is organized by the Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association (HKDEA) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (CreateHK), was launched today at the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Building by announcing the 22 local animation enterprises admitted to the program.

The ceremony was officiated by Ms. Fiona LAM, Assistant Head of CreateHK and .  Mr. Gabriel PANG, Chairman of the HKDEA. Other guests include mentors of the 6^th ASP and representatives of the supporting organizations, etc.

The ASP was launched in 2012 to nurture local animation start-ups and small animation enterprises with a view to enhancing the standard of local animation and promoting the development of local animation industry. Entering into its 6^th edition, the ASP features three categories of participants to support potential animation start-ups and small-scale animation enterprises at different stages, with the third category “small animation enterprises in advance production” newly added.

The 6^th ASP received unprecedentedly 67 proposals, and 22 of them  are  selected by the vetting committee. Each of the applying animation enterprises of these 22 selected proposals will receive a maximum funding of some $100,000 to $500,000 respectively and comprehensive ancillary packages, including trainings, professional mentorships, talent matching services and others, for them to produce their own original animation works.  Moreover, the ASP will implement tailor-made promotional activities to assist the participating animation enterprises in identifying potential business partners and clients.

“The past five editions of the ASP were well accepted by the industry. With the provision of professional guidance and training, the local animation start-ups and small enterprises and their talent in the current edition will be able to produce creative animation works in full swing. We look forward to seeing the progressive improvements of all participating enterprises under the support of the ASP,” said Mr. Gabriel PANG, Chairman of the HKDEA.

Ms. Fiona LAM, Assistant Head of CreateHK, also expressed her gratitude to the HKDEA for organising the ASP again, as well as the vetting committee members and mentors for their supports to the ASP.

The 6^th ASP started the recruitment process in May 2018 for its three categories, namely start-ups, small animation enterprises with training in basis production and small animation enterprises with training in advance production. After a rigorous vetting of the applications by a committee comprising industry professionals, 10 animation start-ups, eight small animation enterprises in basic production and four small animation enterprises in advance production were selected to receive the subsidy,  trainings, professional mentorship and talent matching services to produce their original creative animation works that can showcase their creativity and technical competency.

The subsidy amount and specified length of the animations to be produced under the 6^th ASP for each category are summarized as below:

The animation works produced under the 6^th ASP will be unveiled at a premiere to be held in next March, and broadcast subsequently  on local TV channels, social media and internet, and screened at the FILMART 2019 and on other major commercial platforms for local audience and potential business partners to appreciate Hong Kong’s original animations.

The ASP was launched in 2012 with the last five editions provided a total of 87 places for animation start-ups and small enterprises to produce their original creative animations, some of which attained encouraging results by awarded in a number of local and international contests.

For more details about the 6^th ASP and a review of the original creative animations produced under the previous ASP, please visit the official website: www.animation-ssp.com

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List of Participating Companies of the “6^th Animation Support Program” (in alphabetical order)

Tier 1: Animation Start-ups

Tier 2: Small Animation Enterprises with Training in Basic Productions

Tier 3: Small Animation Enterprises with Training in Advance Productions

Vetting Committee Members (in no particular order)

Mr. Gabriel Pang, Chairman, Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association

Mr. Anthony Lee, Vice-President, Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild

Mr. Eddie Leung, Senior Teaching Fellow, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Mr. Neco Lo, General Secretary, Hong Kong Animation and Cultural Association

Mr. Felix Ip, Animation Director / Comic Artist

Mr. Toe Yuen, Animation Movie Director

Mr. Wong Ying, Visual Effects Supervisor / Screenwriter

Mr. Eddy Hui, Honourary Secretary, Hong Kong Designers Association

Judging Panel Members (in no particular order)

Mr. Gabriel Pang, Chairman, Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association

Mr. Anthony Lee, Vice-President, Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild

Mr. Eddie Leung, Senior Teaching Fellow, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Mr. Neco Lo, General Secretary, Hong Kong Animation and Cultural Association

Mr. Felix Ip, Animation Director / Comic Artist

Mr. Wong Ying, Visual Effects Supervisor / Screenwriter

Mr. Eddy Hui, Honourary Secretary, Hong Kong Designers Association

Ms. Joycelyn Choi, General Manager of Programming, MOViE MOViE

Mr. Mathew Chow, Managing Director, Simage Animation & Media Ltd

Mr. Lam Kee To, Hong Kong Famous Script Writer

Mr. Tim Cheung, Founder of AnimHouse! Studios

Mr. Kinson Cheung, Director of Kino Creative

Mr. Naveen Ma, Dean of HK School of Animation & VFX

Mentors (in no particular order)

Mr. Anthony Lee, Vice-President, Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild

Mr. Eddie Leung, Senior Teaching Fellow, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

Mr. Neco Lo, General Secretary, Hong Kong Animation and Cultural Association

Mr. Felix Ip, Animation Director / Comic Artist

Mr. Toe Yuen, Animation Movie Director

Mr. Wong Ying, Visual Effects Supervisor / Screenwriter

Mr. Eddy Hui, Honourary Secretary, Hong Kong Designers Association

Mr. Lam Kee To, Hong Kong Famous Script Writer

For media enquiries, please contact AQ Communications Ltd., the PR representative of the 6th ASP:

Vicky Lau                Tel: (852) 3421 2583 / 6406 3558               Email: vlau@aqcomm.com

Sarah Chui              Tel: (852) 2137 9707 / 9133 7434                 Email: schui@aqcomm.com