Managing Director of Netherlands Institute for Animation Film Calls For Demonstration over Funding

Dear reader,

These are troubled times in the arts and the culture sector. On both a national, provincial and municipal level major cutbacks are threatening diverse art institutions. These spending cuts are extensive, also within the animation industry. The Holland Animation Film Festival (HAFF), the platform for presenting national and international animation, will no longer receive direct government funding but will have to apply for funding from the Film Fund: the Netherlands Institute for Animation Film (NIAf) will probably disappear completely which also means that the artist-in-residence programme and animation sector tasks, such as workshops and masterclasses for professionals, education, research and distribution will cease. But that’s not all. The Netherlands Film Fund is also being sized-down considerably while more tasks will be added and as a result production budgets will be down by 30%. The Dutch EYE Film Institute will only be able to focus on heritage and international promotion. But owing to the cutbacks on the exploitation of the new building in Amsterdam, its heritage function will decrease by approximately 60% whereby many valuable animation films will not be restored and digitized. Study programmes at Art Academies will also have to be reduced. Whereas to the present day there were a limited number of specializations for animation within higher professional education, these will have to be reduced to possibly just one professional study programme

THE DEMONSTRATION

At various venues in the country campaigns have been organized in protest against the spending cuts. In unison with the animation industry the NIAf wants its voice to be heard. Our protest will take the form of a digital protest march. Movement is the essence of animation. The different frames or drawings of an animation have little meaning separately, but together they form a moving whole, just as hundreds of protestors form a protest march. To achieve this march, we need your help! Help us and the animation industry by sharing a “walk cycle”. The collected walkcycles can be viewed on the web site www.animationmarch.nl and together they will form an animated protest march (visit this web site for more information).

HOWTO PARTICIPATE?

1. Choose a walkcycle (this can either be a new or an existing walkcycle)

2. Share your walkcycle on our Dropbox (More info mail to sandra@niaf.nl )

3. Send us the film through i.e. Wetransfer via e-mail to sandra@niaf.nl )

For more information go to www.animationmarch.nl Participate in our protest against the cutbacks in the animation field! Thank you for your participation!

Animated greetings,

Ton Crone

Managing director the NIAf