The Academy Awards have been nominated for the French studio Xilam Animation, behind “I Lost My Body” and have closed many licensing deals for the new flagship CG animation preschool show “Piggy Builders,” commissioned by the BBC, French Television and ZDF.
New broadcasters on board will film Warner Bros Discovery in Italy, Swedish SVT, YLE in Finland, VRT Ketnet in Flemish Belgium, Telequebec in France, and RTS in Switzerland.
In France’s major television market this week, the sales team at Xilam Animation, led by executive vice president distribution Safaa Benazzouz, will negotiate further deals at Le Havre’s Unifrance Rendez-vous in an 52-part, 11-minute show.
“Since we introduced the ‘Piggy Builder’ to the international market, the full response has been fantastic, with the BBC, French Television and ZDF co-boarding in the series first, and now we welcome a variety of major broadcasters to the fold,” Benazuz said. “We are so excited to see our little piggy entertain young audiences and their families around the world through engaging stories of humorous adventures and teamwork.”
Romance’s Billmain (Ricky Zoom, Mayazaby) took the helm.
“Piggy Builders” headlights Xilam’s Unifrance Rendez-Bous Slate along with “Submarine Jim,” the original kindergarten comedy from Frédéric Martin, creator of Xilam’s hit brand “Oggy Oggy.”
The 52 x 11’2D animation series, jointly ordered by German French Television and Super RTL, follows a young dolphin gym and his underwater friends on a whirlwind journey across land and sea, aboard the world’s first submarine. The series will be available in the second quarter of 2026 in 6-9 seconds.
Among the return brands, the short-form non-dialog comedy “Where’s Chicky,” ordered by French Televisions for the fourth season, was recently completed by Xilam’s CGI Specialist Studio Cube Creative Production. The cute little chick created by William Hoareau has turned into a massive digital hit for Xilam, with 6.3 billion viewers and 10 million subscribers on YouTube for four seasons.
The most popular IP “Zig & Sharko” is a testament to Xilam’s enduring success in a slapstick comedy, boasting over 37 million subscribers on YouTube and 20 billion viewers across eight dedicated channels around the world. Olivier Jean-Marie’s four seasons of show also ran successfully on Netflix, and is now celebrating its 15th anniversary with a wide range of consumer-oriented merchandising campaigns.
Both “Zig & Sharko” season 3 and “Where’s Chicky” were recognized at the Unifrance TV Export Awards, and in 2024 and 2022 they acquired the best-selling French audiovisual programs in the animation category, respectively.
Benazzouz said it “has become a tradition” when he took part in the annual TV programme of the French programme hosted by French promotional agency Unifrance. “This is a great way to start our market season and this event offers an ideal opportunity to meet both new and existing partners,” she said.
Xilam’ Animation’s powerful toon offer for kids and adults, led by CEO Marc Du Pontavice, covers over 2,800 television episodes and three feature films.
Unifrance Rendez-vous runs from September 1-5 in the major French port city of Louver.
