UK-based animation studio Cantilever Media has received a £500,000 investment from Creative UK’s Creative Growth Finance (CGF) to bolster its film distribution capabilities, the companies announced Friday.
The funding will be used to expand Kazoo Films, Cantilever’s UK-Ireland distribution arm launched in 2024, focusing on animated features aimed at children and families. Cantilever, known for its 2022 production The Amazing Maurice, intends to leverage Kazoo Films to distribute its own productions, including Unstable, currently in production with a planned 2027 release, and Bird Brain, budgeted at $15 million.
Creative Growth Finance provides debt financing to small and medium-sized enterprises within the UK’s creative industries, offering initial investments of up to £500,000 with the possibility of additional funding after two years. Emu Films, a London and Yorkshire-based film company, received funding from CGF in 2021, according to reports.
Bird Brain marks the first animated feature to be handled by Cantilever’s joint venture sales agency with Architect Global. It is similarly the first co-production resulting from a slate partnership between Cantilever and ReDefine, the animation division of UK-India visual effects company DNEG. Kazoo Films will distribute films stemming from a three-film co-production agreement between Cantilever, Los Angeles-based Viva Pictures Distribution, and HarperCollins Productions, adapting intellectual property from HarperCollins into animated comedy features.
Cantilever’s current production slate also includes projects such as Bollywoof, Wed Wabbit, and a sequel to The Amazing Maurice.
Creative UK is currently led by Emily Cloke, who succeeded Caroline Norbury as chief executive.
