KKI TALKS at Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film & Animation Production Days
CREATING OUTSTANDING STORIES
in cooperation with the German initiative Outstanding Films for Children
The webinar was held live, 3 May, 2021, ZOOM
“The Last Whale Singer” is an animated feature film project by Telescope Animation Studios that tells the epic story of a teenage humpback whale who must face his fears and summon a mystical song to save the oceans from destruction by a monstrous creature. The film is due to release in 2024 and was the first animated project funded by the German initiative “Outstanding Films for Children” that specializes in the financing of original children’s films and is backed by public broadcasters, regional and national film funders and representatives of the film business and politicians.
In the webinar Reza Memari (Director & Writer) and Maite Woköck (Producer) the CEOs of Telescope Animation Studios will share their insights and findings on the development and financing of this ambitious project, which in addition to the feature film also includes a TV series and a game. Reza is an award-winning animation writer and director with a background in games development, publishing and marketing. Maite has a strong track-record in developing, financing and producing commercially and critically acclaimed animated feature films and series.
With Telescope Animation Studios they want to create story universes for world-wide audiences and gamers and produce interconnected films, series, games and XR experiences utilizing the real-time technology Unreal Engine by Epic Games. They are committed to diversity & inclusivity in their projects, as well as in the workforce, green production workflows, humane working conditions and integrated remote work capabilities and will show which strategies they use to implement these principles in the development and production process of their project. Telescope Animation Studios was founded in 2018 in Berlin with the studio being founded in 2020 in Hamburg.
Speakers: Reza Memari, director and writer, co-founder and CEO of Telescope Animation, and Maite Woköck, producer, CEO of Telescope Animation.
Moderated by: Lilian Klages, CEO & Executive Producer of the German based companies Dreamin’ Dolphin
Film/Munich GmbH and Zooper Film/Ludwigsburg and the Danish based company Parka Pictures Aps.
Hosted by: Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Animation Production Days, Kids Kino Industry and the German initiative Outstanding Films for Children
Lilian Klages
CEO & Executive Producer of the German based companies Dreamin’ Dolphin Film/Munich GmbH and Zooper Film/Ludwigsburg and the Danish based company Parka Pictures Aps.
Originally trained as a city planner/sociologist, Lilian began her career in animation in 1995 as a producer during the animated feature film productions The Fearless Four, Help I am a Fish and Tobias Totz in the studio of Munich Animation. Since then she has focused on international animated feature films, both 2d and CGI and animated tv series overseeing the development and financing during various productions worldwide.
Her credits over the years include a variety of animated feature films as Asterix and The Vikings, The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer, Help I’m a Fish and The Fearless
Four and also highly acclaimed tv series such as LEGO Chima. The animated feature film Latte and the magic waterstone is her newest film, released worldwide
in cinemas the 11th of December 2019.
Lilian Klages is a professor at the film school in Ludwigsburg where she serves as a head of the study line „Animation Producing“ and a censor for the Animation Workshop in Viborg/Denmark. She is a curator for the case study conference part of the Animation Production Days and is a founding member of Women in Animation/Germany.
Reza Memari
CEO at Telescope Animation, screenwriter and director
Reza has an extensive background in film editing, entertainment marketing and games development.
He wrote, co-directed and edited the critically acclaimed and commercially successful animated feature film A Stork’s Journey, which opened at Berlinale 2017 and won the Bavarian Film Award.
Prior, he worked as editor on the animation production Two by Two as well as many other projects, and as a product manager in the games industry.
He is a graduate of the Academy for Children’s Media (Akademie für Kindermedien) and Berlinale Talents.
Maite Woköck
CEO and producer at Telescope Animation, based in Berlin and Hamburg
Maite has extensive experience in animated feature film and series development, financing and production. Her credits include Petronella Applewitch – the sieres (for Akkord Film / ZDF), A Stork’s Journey, Two by Two and Niko 2 – little brother big hero (for Ulysses Film) and many more.
With her company Ella Film she is in production of the animated feature film My Fairy Troublemaker.
For Telescope she is currently in financing with the story universe The Last Whale Singer, created by Reza Memari, which includes a feature film, a game, a series and a VR experience.
She is a graduate of EAVE and the Academy for Children’s Media (Akademie für Kindermedien).