Cartoon Springboard is a European program aimed at animation students and recent graduates who want to develop and present their projects to industry professionals. The call accepts projects for TV series, TV specials, and feature films, but not short films.
Selected participants have the opportunity to pitch their projects, receive direct feedback from international experts, and attend masterclasses and lectures led by industry professionals. The event also provides valuable networking opportunities with producers, distributors, and other animation professionals.
The program’s goal is to support emerging talent and facilitate the launch of new projects in the European animation industry. While the project submission has specific deadlines, it is possible to attend the event as a participant without a project to benefit from the training and professional connections it offers.
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Cartoon Springboard
European Work in Progress is an industry platform held in Hamburg, Germany, from September 28–30, 2026, as part of FILMFEST HAMBURG INDUSTRY DAYS. Its purpose is to support the international circulation of European film projects in production or post-production by connecting selected teams with sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and other audiovisual industry professionals.
The call is open to feature-length fiction, documentary, and animation projects that have at least one European production or co-production company attached. As a Work in Progress platform, it focuses on projects seeking to strengthen their completion, distribution, and international festival strategies. The submission deadline is August 17, 2026.
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European Work in Progress Hamburg
The EAVE Producers Workshop 2026 is an international professional training program for experienced film, documentary, and television series producers. Its goal is to strengthen coproduction skills and expand participants’ professional networks across Europe and beyond.
The program consists of three week-long residential workshops: the first in Luxembourg, the second in Bolzano, and the third in autumn at a location to be confirmed. During these workshops, participants work in groups with experts in script development, financing, legal aspects, marketing, and project presentation, and present their projects to commissioners, funders, and sales agents from the European industry.
Projects in fiction, documentary, and television series at various development stages, from pre-production to post-production, are accepted. The call is international, open to producers worldwide, with scholarships available for European residents and candidates from other regions, promoting diversity and inclusion. The application deadline is August 18, 2025.
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EAVE Producers Workshop
The Fill the Gap Initiative targets animation producers who participated in the Cartoon Forum 2024 and have not yet completed the financing of their projects. Its goal is to provide visibility and networking opportunities to close the financial gap and move projects toward production.
Selected producers must have at least 70% of the budget secured, a committed television channel, and submit a 30 to 45-second trailer to present their project. Participants are also required to attend matchmaking sessions organized during the event.
The initiative includes trailer screenings at the Coffee Show, participation in matchmaking sessions with buyers, sales agents, and potential co-producers, and presence in the Cartoon Forum mobile app. Geographic diversity is encouraged, and preference is given to projects not submitting a new project to the next Cartoon Forum edition.
The trailer submission deadline is August 18, 2025, with presentations on September 18, 2025, in Toulouse, France, during the Cartoon Forum. The initiative aims to help producers finalize financing and connect with strategic partners.
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Fill the Gap Initiative
The seventh edition of ESTELAB invites feature film projects, both fiction and documentary, from Latin America and Europe with potential for international co-production. The lab combines in-person sessions in Colombia with synchronous online activities, providing mentorship and workshops to strengthen projects in development.
Applications are open until October 12, 2025, with a registration fee of 20 USD. Selected projects must cover a participation fee of 480 USD, though partial or full scholarships may be granted.
Applicants must submit a PDF in Spanish including: project cover, synopsis, treatment, director and producer biographies, budget and financing plan, production schedule, motivation to participate, and other relevant information. The registration form must be completed in a single session.
ESTELAB aims to support projects with an international vision and provide tools for their development and potential co-production, fostering exchange between creators and experts from the region and Europe.
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ESTELAB Co-Production Laboratory
