A Bafta-winning children’s television creator has told how his company found success by co-producing with international studios and focusing on the export market.
Colin Williams, Creative Director of Sixteen South, said he realised early on the benefits of partnering with other studios in different parts of the world to secure funding for getting projects off the ground.
Several guests at an event organised by RTS Northern Ireland – in partnership with the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) within its UK Export Academy – said they couldn’t recall a worse time for commissions, describing the current climate in the indie sector as a “drought”.
But despite the challenging times facing the whole sector, Sixteen South, founded in 2007, continues to enjoy success: its preschool animation series Odo has been sold in 149 territories; its first series for six to nine-year-olds, The Coop Troop, is already in 18 territories; and the studio has eight new shows in development. “Accelerating company growth within the creative industries” was held in Belfast in October to encourage conversations around the support available, both financial and practical, for Northern Ireland’s indies and the creative sector in general.
Williams told guests: “We started out as a studio that made animation. Now we are a studio that creates stories and sells them around the world. Our ambition is to reach every child in every home in every country in the world, and to do that we have to partner with other studios to help us realise that ambition.”
Sixteen South, based in Holywood just outside Belfast, has previously received funding from Invest NI and Northern Ireland Screen, and attended key exhibitions via the DBT. It has programmes on all major networks across the globe, including Disney Junior, Nickelodeon, HBO Max and Hulu.
Its extensive slate includes Lily’s Driftwood Bay, Claude and WildWoods as well as Odo and The Coop Troop, and it has won more than 50 international awards, and been nominated for two Emmys.
Williams acknowledged that it was the “hardest time” for the sector, but said the Government can support the growth of indies such as Sixteen South that look abroad for commissioners.
He revealed that the company has its first animated feature film in the pipeline and was considering partnership options.
Richard Elliott is Head of Creative Services at the DBT in its NI hub, which was set up in 2022. He spoke about the need for businesses to be “export ready”.
He explained that his role was to assist in simplifying and creating export opportunities by encouraging creatives to work with the DBT, Belfast City Council, Invest NI and Northern Ireland Screen, stressing the importance of networking and making connections.
The DBT’s trade and investment team in Belfast is ensuring that Northern Ireland businesses have access to the same level of support as businesses in the rest of the UK, in order to bring more investment, jobs and export opportunities to Northern Ireland.
Other speakers at the event included Dan McPartlan, Export Finance Manager, UK Export Finance, who talked about funding and supporting small businesses on their export growth journey, and Brendan McGoran, Creative Industries Officer, Belfast City Council, who discussed creative projects in TV, music and digital content supported by the council, including Output Belfast and Future Screens NI.
Speaking after the event, RTS Northern Ireland Chair Sarah McCaffrey said: “A massive thank you to Richard Elliott at DBT for hosting such an insightful event with RTS NI, which explored how Government bodies can support the global commercial growth of our creative industries from their company base in Northern Ireland.”
