about
Animal Tank is an audiovisual production company and animation studio, founded in 2014 by Brecht Van Elslande and Bert Lesaffer. We are based in Ghent (BE) and focus on fiction and animation projects with an edge.
We value audiovisual works that find a balance between originality and accessibility, experiment and narration, seriousness and playfulness. We appreciate collaborations where creativity and dedication come together.
We have produced films that won prizes at Berlinale, Annecy and Fantoche, were selected at IFFR, SXSW and Clermont-Ferrand, got nominated for the European Film Awards and were sold to ARTE France, Canal+, Canvas, MUBI and HBO. (we also won several awards for most bragging in one straight sentence)
In many cases, audiovisual projects go beyond the boundaries of film. That's why we occasionally organise exhibitions of visual art, special film screenings, VR events and more. Connect with us on Instagram or Facebook for regular updates.
Brecht Van Elslande (producer)
Brecht Van Elslande (°1980) studied art history and began his career by working for the internationally renowned artist Berlinde De Bruyckere and the contemporary art collection of the National Bank of Belgium. From 2006 to 2010, he was project manager FilmLab and Short Film at the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF).
In 2010, he started working parttime as manager of KASKcinema, an arthouse cinema in Ghent. In 2014, he co-founded Animal Tank with Bert Lesaffer.
From 2015 till 2017 he worked as the coordinator for the film department of KASK / School of Arts Gent. Since September 2018 he teaches ‘Introduction in the audiovisual field’ at KASK / School of Arts Gent.
Bert Lesaffer (creative producer)
At Animal Tank, Bert Lesaffer (°1983) supervises screenplays in different stages, discusses artistic choices with directors/screenwriters and gives feedback where needed. As a screenwriter, he is working on several projects: the animated tv-series Toink! and Abel & Loki, animated shorts Maantunnel and En met u?, and feature length-film Met de noorderzon.
Bert’s background is in psychology, theatre and film. He wrote and directed five plays with Stuurs Opzicht, worked at MEDIA Desk Flanders and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund and was KASKcinema's programmer and communication manager for seven years. He currently still works at KASK / School of Arts Gent as a teacher, ombudsperson and confidentiality advisor.