Award-winning indie Big Deal Films (Little Badman, Hope, Dreaming whilst Black) is making a further push into animation by teaming up with Tom van Waveren’s Hoek, Line & Thinker for the launch of Big Thinkers; a new program to unearth the next big animated hit authored by diverse U.K. creators.
Big Thinkers is inviting U.K. creators that have a story they are passionate about — or an idea or character design that they feel can be the next iconic IP that the world is looking for — to send in their submissions. Big Thinkers wants to develop animated series that can compete with the best content already out there, while being told from a perspective that gives a voice and the screen to underrepresented sections of the audience. Projects should be aimed at preschoolers, children 6 to 11 or a prime time audience.
Submissions will be accepted at bigdealfilms.com from now until midnight on April 10. Ten finalists will be invited to come and pitch their projects in person to a jury in London a few weeks after that. The Jury will consist of a broad representation of industry perspectives and backgrounds, including Elliott Palmer (CBBC, Nickelodeon, King Bert), Shamik Majumdar (Disney EMEA), Kristina Yee (Goat Girl), Ed Barnieh (Netflix) and Lindsey Adams (Daily Madness).
The three winning creators will be invited to come and develop their ideas into full pitch bibles at Big Deal Films. There, they will work in partnership with experienced creative teams and studios with a view to presenting their ideas to key broadcasters, platforms and overseas partners later in the year.
“Now more than ever, the world of animation needs stories, characters and superheroes that truly reflect the world we live in,” said Dhanny Joshi, Co-Founder & MD of Big Deal Films. “Further increasing our presence in animation feels like a very natural next step for Big Deal Films and we are excited to partner with Tom and the Hoek, Line and Thinker team to make this a reality.”
Thomas Stogdon, Co-Founder & Creative Director at Big Deal Films, noted, ‘We love children’s content in all genres and want to bring a smile and our unique voice to the projects we will be developing.”
Founded in 2014, Big Deal Films is a leading producer of diverse and representative content. The studio’s children’s content has earned Emmy, BAFTA and Broadcast Award nominations. It received an investment from the Channel Four Growth Fund and was commissioned by BBC to produce the national broadcaster’s first Black comedy drama, Dreaming whilst Black. The studio is entering the animation sphere with an adaptation of its bestselling kids’ books Little Badman, with BBC Studios.
“I am very excited to be partnering with the wonderful team at Big Deal Films, they are well known for their great content and for being first class ambassadors of innovative and diverse content,” said animation industry veteran van Waveren. “But most importantly, they understand what makes great characters and great comedy! I look forward to building a slate of fun and innovative animated shows with them through this initiative.”
Van Waveren founded Hoek, Line & Thinker in 2004. He was CEO and Creative Director of CAKE Entertainment for 14 years, and oversaw the production of hundreds of hours of animated content. His executive producer credits include Angelo Rules, Mush Mush and the Mushables, Angry Birds Summer Madness, Pablo and the upcoming Mama K’s Team 4. From May 2021, van Waveren has been working from within Hoek, Line & Thinking to create content with creative, societal and commercial impact.
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