AGBO will appear at Tokyo Content Market to discuss AI storytelling

TIFFCOM, the Tokyo International Film and Television Content Market held concurrently with the Tokyo International Film Festival, announced a new batch of meeting arrangements.AGBO, founded by Anthony and Joe Russell, will hold a keynote speech on October 29th with company partner Chris Brayton and chief scientific officer Dominic Hughes on the topic of “Technology and Narrative”.

This conversation will focus on how creators collaborate with technicians and discuss the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other tools in film and television storytelling.The focus of the report is that it is led by artists, which means that creative personnel are placed at the center of the discussion.The event will be hosted by Variety Asia Editor Naman Ramachandran.

Prior to joining AGBO, Brayton served as vice president of corporate strategy for Amazon-MGM Studios, where he participated in the integration of MGM into Amazon.Hughes' professional direction is algorithms, machine learning and artificial intelligence. He works with the narrative and innovation teams at AGBO and is responsible for the development and use arrangements of related technologies.The work experience of the two people also corresponds to the theme of creativity and technology juxtaposed in this speech.

AGBO was founded by the Russell brothers.According to the organizer, the cumulative global box office of the works the company has participated in has exceeded US$7 billion, and 17 works have topped the global opening weekend.The company currently has a Marvel movie in the post-production stage, which is scheduled to be released on December 18.This Tokyo presentation will be released as part of TIFFCOM’s second wave of conference lineup.

The Japan Animation Association will hold a special event on Japan Animation's Global Expansion on October 30 to disclose the data of the 2025 industry survey for the first time, and also arrange for sharing of overseas strategies between Japanese animation companies and Production I.G.Hitomi Hiratsuka, international sales director of Japan Animation, and Yoko Ishikawa, head of corporate management and IP of Production I.G., are on the list of speakers. Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the Japan Animation Association, will make an opening speech.

There will also be an animation conference on October 29th focusing on international co-productions.Annecy's award-winning director and Robot Playground Media co-founder Erwin Han, Salamander CEO Sakura Takii, and Foliascope CEO Ilan Hulloz will all participate.The content of the meeting focused on the structure and financing arrangements of international animation co-productions.

Asian dramas and movies are also on the market agenda.Linghe Culture will showcase drama projects from 2026 to 2027, and the China Taiwan Drama Industry Federation will hold a promotion of Taiwan's original projects. Both events are scheduled for October 28.Japan IP Frontier on October 29th will introduce the overseas expansion of six companies, including TV Tokyo, Fuji TV and Hokkaido TV.

Nippon Television and Tokyo Broadcasting Holdings have also set up global strategic shows, which will be on October 28 and October 29 respectively.The Tokyo IP Market also added digital comics publisher Comisma and toy company Dome this year, bringing the total number of participating IP rights parties to 10.Kadokawa, Shochiku, Square Enix, Toei and other companies are also on the list.

TIFFCOM 2026 will be held at Hamamatsucho Hall in Tokyo from October 28th to 30th, and the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival will be held from October 26th to November 4th.AGBO's keynote speeches, animation industry data, co-production financing and IP internationalization issues will all be launched one after another in this round of market activities.