Toho Buys Controlling Stake in TIA Animation Firm – Global Bulletin

Patrick Frater
·4 min read
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STAKE


Japan’s biggest film group Toho announced that it has taken a controlling stake in TIA (previously Toho Interactive Animation), a production company behind the “100 Nichikan Ikita Wani,” film and anime series “iii icecrin,” “iii icecrin2” “Ninja Collection” and “That Is the Bottleneck.”

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Originally known as I&A, the company was established in 2017 by ILCA and Anima. The name changed to TIA after Toho bought a nearly 35% from the two founders in 2020. Toho has now bought out Anima’s stake, giving it a 67.4% majority holding and cause to rename the company again, this time to Toho Animation Studio. Deal terms were not disclosed.

Keiji Ota, managing executive officer of Toho, in charge of the studio’s video business and digital content division, is to be appointed as president and representative director at Toho Animation Studio.

Toho has been ramping up slowly in animation over the past ten years and recently enjoyed success with “Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie.” But earlier this year, in a revised mission statement, the group said that it should expand further and make anime its fourth core business.

FESTIVAL

The BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) has added Luca Guadagnino’s Venice player “Bones and All,” starring Timothée Chalamet, Jafar Panahi‘s Venice winner “No Bears” and Nicholas Stoller‘s Toronto hit “Bros” to its lineup. The festival’s Screen Talk lineup includes directors Mia Hansen-Løve, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Noah Baumbach, musician and actor Janelle Monáe, and actors Bill Nighy and Aubrey Plaza.

STREAMING


“Women in Taipei,” the first series to be completed by Taiwan’s Sequoia Entertainment has begun to play on the Disney+ streaming platform in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, with expansion to other territories possible later. The series, which tells everyday story of women’s romantic relationships, friendships, kinship, and careers, is derived from the “Tokyo Girl” series and is the fourth iteration after previous updates focused on Beijing and Shanghai. Sequoia, part of the Grandi group, is also producing LGBTQ series “Nipple Talk,” which it expects to see released by a streaming platform in 2023.

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“Human Playground,” a six-part Netflix docu-series about the origins and evolution of the most unique sports around the world, will launch internationally in 193 countries on Sept. 30. Banijay companies, Dutch label Scenery and U.K.- based Workerbee, have joined forces to co-produce the high-end series, which is narrated by Idris Elba, who also serves as an executive producer. The series also brings together editor of “BBC Earth” and “Our Planet,” director Tomas Kaan and photographer and creator Hannelore Vandenbussche.

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Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan narrates “The Journey of India,” a new series for Warner Bros. Discovery that celebrates India’s rich tapestry of heritage, innovation and contemporary marvels. The show premieres on Oct. 10, 2022 on discovery+ in the Philippines and India. It also airs in India on the Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and DTamil on the same day. Later, it will be available on discovery+ and across the Discovery network in 140 countries. The six-part series looks at the nation’s progress since independence 75 years ago, with focus on advancements in science and technology, ambitious space missions to the world of cinema.

PRODUCTION

“Delhi Crime” star Rasika Dugal has commenced shooting drama-comedy film “Little Thomas,” directed by Kaushal Oza. The pair previously collaborated on short film “The Miniaturist of Junagadh.” The film will be shot across Mumbai and Goa for a month.

Dugal said: ” ‘Little Thomas’ is a beautiful and lyrical story about a Goan family. Kaushal has a quiet and unique style of storytelling, which I am naturally drawn to. I feel we are creating something special.”

Dugal’s upcoming projects include season 3 of “Mirzapur,” “Adhura,” “Spike,” “Lord Curzon Ki Haveli” and “Fairy Folk.”

APPOINTMENT

BritBox International has named Sarah Hird as senior VP, corporate and consumer communications, reporting into CEO Reemah Sakaan. Hird will lead BritBox International’s team of in-house and agency partners across all global regions. She joins from DAZN Group, where she was VP, global communications and was previously director of communications for The Walt Disney Company EMEA.

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