Irish Animation TV Series Garth & Bev Sells Globally
The children's television series Garth & Bev, directed by Stuart Shankly, will premiere on American television this month as it is to be broadcast on Cbeebies in Mexico and Cbeebies US Hispanic. The animated series has also been sold to Al-Jazeera and the Portuguese channel RTP.
Created by Andrew Kavanagh and produced by Gary Timpson and Paul Rigg for Kavaleer Productions, Garth & Bev follows the adventures of two kids who live back in the Bronze Age, and with a little magical help from their grandfather Lir, they can travel anywhere in time.
Since its debut on RTÉ Two in November 2009, Garth & Bev has enjoyed great success. The series received a 32% audience share during its two week run on RTÉ and subsequently aired on CBeebies and BBC2. It was co-financed by the IFB, BAI, RTÉ, BBC and BBC Worldwide.
The good news follows in the footsteps of another Kavaleer Productions project, as Hasan Everywhere had its US premiere at the Brooklyn International Film Festival earlier this month.
Hasan Everywhere, written and directed by Andrew Kavanagh, explores the friendship between an Israeli noveslist and a Palestinian artist, depicting a version of love across a difficult divide.
Produced by Ciara Gillen for Kavaleer Productions, this animated film previously scooped the Grand Prix award as well as the Best Use of Film or Animation award at the Digital Media Awards and was also nominated for Best Animation at the IFTA's this year.
It was funded under the Frameworks scheme which is co-financed by the IFB, the Arts Council and RTÉ.