Kam Kam Goes to France
What we learned pitching our animated short at MIPCOM 2018
October was a big month for us. For the first time, ListenMi attended MIPCOM, the world’s largest coronation market of content. For 2 days, 14,000 talented producers and global distributors set up dazzling stalls and multiple meetings in Cannes, France to ask each other one question: You’re buying or selling?
We were selling our firstborn baby, Kam Kam. But who wants to buy a kids show about a cute little black girl with big dreams? With a Jamaican accent? From a studio in the Caribbean?
We were privileged to be part of a delegation of animation studios led by JAMPRO and the OPM. People in France were quite warm to us Jamaicans, as the Marleys and Bolt had already paved the way. They knew Jamaicans for singing and speed, and they were excited to see what we brought to the drawing board.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for us though. Time wasn’t on our side when it came to preparing for MIPCOM. We had only one week to set up meetings, for a marketplace where people get their one on ones locked in by latest end of August.
But things worked out in an unexpected way. Our decision a few months back to take the plunge and start producing our animated short, The Adventures of Kam Kam, actually worked in our favour. We had something to show, to seek validation on whether OTT providers or channels were willing to distribute the story we’ve been working on. So without scheduled meetings we got many meaningful interactions. Who could it be but Gawd!
What we learned from Kam Kam’s feedback
So here’s what we learned from speaking with producers, distributors, agents and government reps:
- Our work is on par with the rest of the world. People sat up, were engaged and asked questions about Kam Kam. Yay. Though we are small, I believe we can carve out a strong niche for ourselves as a studio by continuing to create and share authentic, universal, high quality stories.
- There is a demand for quality, Afrocentric TV content for kids in our target preschool category from OTT providers and channels in Africa and the US.
- But not everyone thinks so. For some distributors, focusing on black content immediately closes off the story’s potential for going global. For them, the story is no longer universal as ‘Out of many’ sells better than black. Multi-ethnic, they explained, is more inclusive and expansive. I don’t know if I agree with this, and I think it presents a view of the world I don’t accept. But this is what they said.
- You really have to know your target audience when you’re developing your stories to validate that people this speaks to do exist. Having fans, an audience or community of people who love what you do is priceless. Finding and connecting with our tribe is gonna be a top priority.
- It’s up to us to put in the work, and do it fast. The world won’t wait.
MIPCOM was an eye-opener for us. The slow conversations we are having in the Caribbean and long standing struggles with content distribution, incentives, screening opportunities is far outpaced by what’s happening on the global entertainment stage. Our environment puts us at such a disadvantage in the Creative Industries, while a shift in thinking could result in some truly remarkable strides for all our studios. But that outpouring of MIPCOM reflections may be for another post, if you’re interested dear reader.
In the meantime, we have our work cut out for us. We’ll keep you posted on any new announcements where Kam Kam ends up next. But we’re also interested in your feedback on the teaser. And if you like it, share it with a friend. Or five. Your comments could help raise a little black girl from a mere idea to a global animation reality.
Before you go, how about giving this post a👏 👏 and sharing it with others? And let’s talk more @Listenmi on Instagram. You may also stroll over to www.ListenMi.com for our other design experiments and animation adventures.
