By Ramin Zahed
November 25, 2024
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“Founded in 2010 by visionary producer Amit Russell Gicelter as an animation hub in Tel Aviv, The Hive is a world-renowned studio that specializes in the development and production of animated episodic programming, short films and commercial content. With headquarters in Israel and a newly opened branch in Greece, the studio is powered by a team of 40 highly skilled artists, and has established itself as a creative hub, known for producing visually diverse and technically masterful animation across multiple genres and styles. The studio’s work, which has included acclaimed shorts such as Black Slide, Swimming with Wings, Pisces and the Oscar-nominated Letter to a Pig, and TV shows such as Summer Memories and The Fenestas have received international acclaim. We recently had the chance to speak with the studio’s media and content producer Hadas Gicelter to find out more about the studio and its upcoming slate.
Animag: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. Can you tell us a bit about the origins of your studio?
Hadas Gicelter: Yes, of course. The Hive Studio was founded in 2010 by Amit Russell Gicelter as an animation hub in Tel Aviv. In the early years, we focused primarily on service work while beginning to develop independent content. Our first short film, Broken Branches, was released in 2014.
Since then, we’ve grown, currently being one of the country’s leading animation studios. We’ve expanded into two additional locations, and recently opened our first international branch in Athens, Greece. These days, our main focus is the production of episodic programming, both original content as well as service for international clients. Yet, we still work tirelessly on short films as well. Our most well-known film to date, Letter To A Pig (directed by Tal Kantor and co-produced with Miyu Productions), was an Academy Award nominee for Best Short Animated Film last year.
What are your animation specialties?
Hadas: Our specialty lies in our versatility. We don’t limit ourselves to a single animation style but strive to master what suits the story. As one of the leading animation studios in the region, we maintain strong ties to the local creative community and have the flexibility to assemble the ideal talent for each project. Our portfolio features 3D animation, 2D animation, mixed media, stop motion, and more — enabling us to resonate with diverse audiences worldwide.
What would you say sets you apart from other studios?
Hadas: Other than our visual versatility, we also excel in navigating local and international project financing, ensuring the resources needed to bring ambitious ideas to life. Our European branch further strengthens global collaborations, and our track record shows our capability to handle productions from initial financing through workflow management, all the way to completion. Equally important, we’re fun to work with! We prioritize building positive, supportive relationships with both our team and clients.
How many employees are currently working at The Hive?
Hadas: We currently have about 40 employees on various projects, but we’re scalable up to 100+ depending on the needs of our projects in our various locations.
Which other companies do you work with?
Hadas: As we all know, animation thrives on collaboration. In our recent endeavors in Greece, we’ve been collaborating closely with Animasyros Productions: They’ve been outstanding partners in helping us understand and navigate the Greek market.
At Cartoon Forum recently, we had the pleasure of pitching our show Kombina alongside Pixel Giants and Prickly Pear Animation from Cyprus—a true international collaboration.
With many of our productions being co-productions, we’ve honed the skills needed to manage the intricate processes of cross-border collaboration. We’ve also had the privilege of working with amazing partners such as Miyu Productions, Fabian&Fred, Valk Productions, Aircraft Pictures and Flipbook Studios, to name a few.
What are some of the projects you are working on now?
Hadas: This year, following our recent successes, feels like the perfect time to invest our time and effort in a feature film project that our founder, Amit Gicelter, developed years ago but never had the chance to bring to life. We’re working on this alongside the visionary executive producer Fonda Snyder from Ink Alchemy. We have also decided to expand our services to support the distribution of short films to festivals worldwide and buying international Animation feature films for local cinemas. It’s been exciting to grow in these areas while continuing our core work.
What would you like the animation community around the world to know about you?
This year two of our films are under consideration for the Academy Awards: Pisces (for Best Animated Short Film) and Swimming With Wings (for Best Documentary Short Film). Both are beautifully crafted by female directors and explore the themes of migration, adapting to a new life, language, and culture while striving to preserve one’s original identity.
What are your goals for 2025 and beyond?
To keep creating and expanding! To infinity and beyond!
>>> Visit Animationmagazine.net to read the complete article <<<
