Andy Frain is an animation producer and the founder & CEO of Touchwood Animation Ltd. After a career in the music industry, in 1991 Frain started the anime distribution company Manga Entertainment. Within five years Manga had almost single handedly popularised Japanese animation in western markets and Frain’s unique relationships with Japanese animation directors, producers, studios, distributors and publishers led to the first animated feature co-production between Japanese and Western companies. That film, “Ghost in the Shell” has become one of the most successful and profitable films of the “anime” or “manga” genre and has received the unprecedented acclaim from director James Cameron as “the first truly adult animation film to reach a level of literary and visual excellence”.
In 1996 Andy Frain started Touchwood Animation Ltd as well as two CGI animation studios; Slave Studios based in London and Bravo Studios in Romania. The company has been involved in the production of several animation tv series including “Spheriks” a 26 x ½ hour CGI TV series for FIFA and “Free Jimmy” a CGI Feature Film for Sarah Radclyffe Productions, as well as the BAFTA award winning “Brush Head”, a series of shorts made for The Disney Channel. Touchwood has also produced several music videos including U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me”, which was featured in the “Batman Forever” feature film, and the company is currently in production and development on a number of animation projects including “Helter Skelter”, an animated adult comedy drama series which satirises the music business.
www.linkedin.com/andyfrain
