Following an Annecy Cristal win for ‘The Violinist,’ director Ervin Han and Toonz present their new animated feature at the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market.
At TIFFCOM 2026, Toonz Media Group and award-winning director Ervin Han are participating in the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market to secure the final investment for their upcoming animated feature, “The Banquet of Hungry Ghosts.” The project arrives in Japan seeking to close a 20% financing gap, serving as a practical case study for stronger intra-regional co-production models within the Asian animation industry.
“The Banquet of Hungry Ghosts” is an animated anthology weaving together four distinct tales, currently being produced in parallel by three different studios across Asia. Toonz Media Group is managing the title’s world sales, while its Ireland-based subsidiary, Telegael, operates as a minority co-producer. The production timeline targets a picture lock by February, with final delivery scheduled for April to align with the upcoming global festival circuit.
For Gulshan David of Toonz Media Group, the project illustrates how Asian content should be structurally packaged before approaching Western buyers. He noted that securing the majority of a budget regionally makes international pitching significantly more viable. “If the Asian producers come first and bring in at least 50% of the production, taking that as a package anywhere else and closing the gap is easier,” David explained, warning against the traditional burden of trying to fully finance Asian stories solely through external funds.
The executives highlighted the ongoing maturation of Asian content markets, comparing the current regional momentum to the development of robust funding and grant infrastructures seen in Latin America over the past decade. Han, who previously utilized the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market to connect with European co-producers for his Annecy Cristal-winning film “The Violinist,” emphasized the strategic value of TIFFCOM’s curated environment. The executives noted that the platform prioritizes the quality of investor meetings and concrete deal-making opportunities over sheer volume.
Moving forward, the financial and distribution roadmap for “The Banquet of Hungry Ghosts” includes a confirmed premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal in July, alongside planned submissions to major genre and animation events like Sitges and Annecy. Following TIFFCOM, Toonz Media Group will maintain its regional focus, preparing a dedicated presentation panel for the feature at the upcoming Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) in Singapore.
