Internationally renowned London-based animation studio Nexus is delighted to announce a partnership between multi-award winning animation producers Claire Jennings, Christopher O’Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso to develop and produce original animated features.
Claire Jennings’s eminent career has won critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic and she is widely recognised as one of the most talented players in her field. Her producer credits include the Oscar and BAFTA winning feature film “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit” and the Oscar nominated, BAFTA winning feature film “Coraline.”
Nexus has developed a reputation as one of the world’s leading independent animation studios. Its extensive credits in short films, series and commercials include the Oscar nominated “This Way Up.” They have a host of accolades for their commercial work, including three Cannes Grand Prix and have created high-profile Superbowl spots. This new partnership paves the way for an exciting UK animation feature pipeline.
The partnership is off to a good start as they received one of the recently announced BFI Vision Awards. The slate development award sees Nexus granted two years of funding towards its film development activity. Jennings will collaborate with Nexus founders Christopher O’Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso to develop a slate of animated features.
Alongside her feature work, Jennings produced several award winning short films including the Oscar and BAFTA winning “Father and Daughter”, the Oscar and BAFTA nominated “Jolly Roger” and the Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning “Canterbury Tales.” During her corporate career Jennings continued to deliver high-profile and successful projects. From 2000 to 2001 she oversaw creative development of HIT’s newly acquired PINGU franchise. Then during her tenure as President of Entertainment from 2009 to 2011 at the US studio Laika she oversaw creative development and managed all early development and pre-production on the recent feature film “Paranorman.”
Nexus will bring its extensive studio and creative facility to the partnership with a 110-seat studio based in London. They will also bring interactive and cross-platform resources through its digital division Nexus Interactive Arts that creates innovative storytelling experiences across digital media, including app-based storytelling, gaming and interactive web films.
Chris O’Reilly, Co-Founder, Nexus, says: “This is an exciting development for Nexus and for UK animation as a whole. There have been few opportunities for the UK’s incredible animation talent to develop features. Claire is someone we’ve long wished to collaborate with so we’re delighted to be working together to achieve this. She has been at the heart of some of the most stand-out projects in animation, which demonstrate both her creative integrity and strong commercial sense.”
Claire Jennings says: “I’m especially delighted to be collaborating so closely with Nexus. Having paved the way for many successful animation artists throughout the years Nexus continue to be leaders within this specialized field. Establishing a well deserved respect within the industry for distinct design, strong storytelling and proven production capabilities Nexus also have outstanding expertise within the world of high profile commercial campaigns. A long time admirer of their continuing passion and enthusiasm for animation I’m honored to be entering into a new feature film collabo
