The iconic French animation company Station Animation has chosen Avignon and the Vaucluse department to set up its new studio. Founded in 2006, they produce original series and feature films, as well as offers services to public institutions such as museums. Michel Cortey, one of the founders and production director of the famous studio, explains why they have decided to set up in Avignon.

Who are your main clients?

Canal+, M6, TF1 and France Télévision, and we also produce feature films for Pathé, Gaumont, StudioCanal, Bac Film and Apollo. We have also started collaborating with Netflix.

Why did you choose Avignon?

Although our main studio is located in Paris, we have always wanted to set up in other regions. What marked a turning point was the meeting with Loïc Etienne, director of digital economy projects at the Vaucluse Provence Attractivité development agency, during the Annecy festival (international festival specialised in animation movies held in Annecy in the Alps). Thanks to him, we learned about Vaucluse's potential in the digital field, as well as its desire to develop a real ecosystem in the animation sector.

Michel Cortey, co-founder of State Animation

What was it like to move to the city?

Loïc accompanied us throughout the process, helping us to choose a site that met all our expectations. Thus, we were able to acquire premises with fibre optics in the heart of the city, which facilitates the daily life of our teams. I was also delighted to meet Julien Deparis, director of the Ecole des Nouvelles Images, who was kind enough to welcome us to his establishment so that we could carry out a project under development before moving into our new premises.

Does this open the door to future collaborations?

We will certainly welcome interns in the future, as two of our directors come from MOPA (3D animation university), which Julien directed until 2017. We currently have a staff of around ten, but we will soon need to hire more staff to meet the needs of the animation industry. The sector is growing thanks to the power of productions and schools, as well as the world of video games, which constitutes a new market in the sector.

Inspecteur Croquettes, an animal thriller in development by Delépine and Fleder © La Station Animation

What projects are in the pipeline?

We are currently producing and directing an animated series for France Télévisions: "Partie de campagne", partly in Avignon. At the same time, we are co-producing and directing part of the 3D animation of a hybrid film called "Chien et Chat" by Reem Kherici. Finally, we are developing two other feature film projects. We are also developing 3 other series projects, including one with the Disney + platform, but shhh, it's a secret....