Regulatory News:
(PARIS:MDW)
Group Mediawan's animation studio, On Kids family, announces its partnership with world-renowned producer Joann Sfar, through the acquisition of a majority stake in his production company Nice Pictures.
This unique partnership aims at developing Joann Sfar's exceptional universes across all audiovisual media and digital platforms.
Group Mediawan, with its company On Kids family (Le Petit Prince, Miraculous, Playmobil the Movie,…) is the 1st producer of animated movies and series in Europe. This collaboration is part of the Group's strategy to develop ambitious contents with talented authors and broadcast them as widely as possible.
The partnership with Joann Sfar will start with the release of the movie "Little Vampire", coming from his comic which has been an international success.
Joann Sfar has been dreaming up and illustrating stories since his childhood. Following a Master's degree in Philosophy, he joined the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, developing a passion for his morphology classes. In 1993, he joined Atelier Nawak, which subsequently became Atelier des Vosges. In 1994, he published his first album "Noyé le poisson". Since then, Joann Sfar has been producing work of the utmost originality. Following an animation series adapted from his "Petit Vampire" (Little Vampire) for France Television in 2004, he moved into film with "Gainsbourg Vie Héroïque" (Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life), which would go on to receive three César Awards in 2011, while the adaptation of his "Chat du Rabbin" (The Rabbi's Cat), co-penned with Sandrina Jardel and co-produced with Antoine Delesvaux, received a César Award for best animated film.
"We're delighted to be beginning this new chapter, working with one of the most influential, prolific authors of his generation," states Aton Soumache, On kids family CEO. "Joann owes his great reputation, in Europe and internationally, to the exceptional, unique worlds he has crafted over the years; sophisticated yet accessible to all: Joann's work is as universal as it is timeless. His imagination abounds with fantastic characters and is an eternal source of stories that spark ambitious projects. We cannot wait to build on his incredible worlds by adding a new international dimension which aligns well with the Group's strategy."
"For the first time, thanks to Aton and his teams, I've been asked to film and animate all the creatures in my books, for children as well as adults, creating a cosmogony of series and films as rich and profound as those produced by American and Japanese creators. We're going to be focusing the full force of our energy on crafting this decidedly European legendary world," adds Joann Sfar
"The arrival of Joann and his worlds at ON serves to fuel our growth objectives and aligns with the Mediawan Group's strategy: to roll out our range and capitalize on our know-how. We're delighted to welcome him on board and see him fully involved in our future," states Thierry Pasquet
About On kids family
Co-founded by Aton Soumache, Dimitri Rassam and Thierry Pasquet, On kids family is an independent European studio with international reach producing animated content for children and families, primarily television series and feature films with international scope. With almost 500 employees in Paris, Montreal, Los Angeles, Hyderabad and Luxembourg, On kids family unites producers and partners from around the world through the development of brands via different formats including animated series and feature films, licensing and merchandising, and digital platforms and content.
The Group draws on innovation, technology and international talent to develop magical, fantasy-laden worlds for children and families through its many different productions such as The Little Prince, Miraculous, Little Nicholas and Robin Hood, which have attracted record-breaking audiences, becoming international hits. In its Montreal studio, On kids family recently completed its next animated blockbuster, Playmobil: The Movie produced by Lino Di Salvo. This is the first film from an international franchise whose worldwide release is scheduled for 2019, and 7 August 2019 in France (Pathé Distribution). Following strategic alignment in June 2018, On kids family joined the Mediawan Group. For more information about On kids family: www.onkidsandfamily.com
About Mediawan
Mediawan was founded by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse and raised €250 million from an initial public offering on the regulated Euronext Paris market. Since March 2017, Mediawan has completed eight strategic acquisitions, becoming a new independent premium audiovisual content player, occupying a leading position in Europe. The group works in four sub-sectors: production of original drama and documentary content, operating animation brands, distribution of audiovisual content, and publication of digital services and channels.
Find out more on the Mediawan website: www.mediawan.fr
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190407005051/en/
Contacts:
Press: Majorelle PR Events:
Clara Devoret cdevoret@majorelle-pr.fr
+33 (0)6 40 48 57 27
Victoria Rey vrey@majorelle-pr.fr
+33 (0)6 26 94 54 79
Investors Analysts:
Aurélie Jolion ajolion@mediawan.eu
+33 (0)6 23 52 50 47
Newcap mediawan@newcap.eu
+33 (0)1 44 71 98 55
Contact ON Entertainment:
Caroline Guillot PR Communications Manager
c.guillot@onentertainment.fr
+33 (0)1 804 804 22
