Frankfurt-based animation studio scopas medien has joined a recent wave of funds concentrating on family entertainment, including Victory, Mediability, Equity Pictures, and Festival Film by launching a Euros 30m private media fund to invest in internationally marketable family entertainment for cinema and television.

The fund is inviting private individuals to each invest a minimum of Euros 10,000 by December 31, 2002, and has reserved the option to raise the fund's volume by another Euros 5m if required.

The fund intends to invest Euros 26.43m from the initial placement and from a revolving fund in subsequent years in some ten productions. Five projects are already lined up - the stop animation series Mo-Gang, Robomania and Max & Ko, and the classic animated series Big Cat Little Cat and The Mellops - which will begin production soon.

Production agreements for the stop motion series have been signed with scopas medien's in-house studio Clayart, while production on the two cartoon series will be co-ordinated on behalf of the fund by RTV Family Entertainment Produktions. World sales on the fund productions has been placed in the hands of RTV Family Entertainment.

scopas medien was launched in 1994 together with sister company Clayart Trickfilmproduktion, merging together into scopas medien in 1999. The company specialises in producing for commercials and television and has built up an internationally respected track record in the field of stop-motion animation.