SAAnimation Set to Boom

SA ANIMATION SET TO BOOM

South Africa is seeing a steady growth in its animation sector, ever-building its already stellar reputation as a creator of world class, award-winning animated content.

Zog (courtesy of Triggerfish Animation Studios)

Last year was arguably a great one for African animators. Not only are more internationals putting their faith in our professionals through commercials, edutainment, apps and games, but South African produced work in particular is receiving more and more international recognition. Of note are, of course, Triggerfish and Magic Light’s film Zog which recently won the International Emmy for Best Kids Animation. The 25-minute short has already won at the Royal Television Society, Shanghai International TV Festival and the New York International Children’s Film Festival. Meanwhile, Triggerfish is currently in production with their third and long-anticipated third film, Seal Team.

In the commercial realm, companies like Black Ginger, Lung Animation and Tulips and Chimneys continuing to push boundaries. Black Ginger have won several awards for commercial work done in 2019, and have also worked on larger

projects like Escape Room and Andy Serkis’ rendition of Mowgli. Tulips has done several intricate animated adverts for Hendriks Gin since their last success with Fruit of the Loom and Cerebos a few years back, while Lung continues to work with international commercials while simultaneously working on Freja and the False Prophecy – a hand-drawn, 2D action

Freja and the False Prophecy

adventure game set in the world of Norse Mythology and set for release in 2021.

INVESTING IN LOCAL ANIMATORS

The National Film and Video Foundation, together with the other film commissions and promotion units in South Africa, continue to support local animators through market

exposure in partnership with the industry association, Animation South Africa. In June 2019, the NFVF led a delegation of animation students and professionals to the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market (MIFA), from 10-15 June 2019.

In addition to assisting animators in getting international exposure, the NFVF has also entered into collaborative agreements with France in order to develop SA’s animation industry through collaborations between productions and skills exchanges between African institutions and their French counterparts. Furthermore, the NFVF also contributed more than ZAR 268 000 towards scholarships for a South African student to study at the prestigious Gobelins animation school in France. The scholarship programme is additionally funded by The Animation School in SA and Campus France. Karien Benz was the first student to be awarded the scholarship for a

Mama K’s Team 4

Jungle Beat

Master’s in Character Animation and Animated Filmmaking.

Other initiatives like Julia Smuts-Louw’s Draw for Life programme continues to see success in introducing high school students to the art of animation. Then there’s also Triggerfish’s Story Lab that has also seen consistent success since its launch several years ago. In fact, one of their incubator projects, Mama K’s Team 4, was snapped up by Netflix last year. The studio is working on this production remotely together with Seal Team during the lockdown.

SUNRISE TURNS UP THE BEAT

Sunrise Productions continues to create new content and build on their existing successes. Rumour has it there is something fresh on the horizon, but until an official announcement is made, they continue to keep that popular Jungle Beat going. The eighth season of the awardwinning preschool show is currently in production. It is set for release in late 2020, with worldwide distributors Monster Entertainment attached.

Monster Entertainment has distributed previous seasons of the show to broadcasters in over 150 countries, as well as on 45 airlines. Meanwhile, the Jungle Beat YouTube channel, which is managed by Aardman, has attracted 2.5 million subscribers and has seen over 1 billion views.

More excitingly, however, is Sunrise’s recent launch of

DUE TO THE NATIONAL LOCKDOWN, THE JUNGLE BEAT THE MOVIE WILL HAVE AN ONLINE, AT-HOME PREMIERE ON 26 JUNE.

Jungle Beat The Movie. Due to the national lockdown, the film will have an online, at-home premiere on 26 June. You can join in the fun in the lead up to this ambitious release at junglebeatthemovie.com.

CTIAF POSTPONED

Cape Town International Animation Festival is the largest film fest dedicated to African animation. Unfortunately due to the global COVID-19 lockdown, this year’s event – set for May – was postponed to 24-27 April 2021. It will take place at the Cape Town Stadium and co-locate with Comic Con Cape Town. It is renowned for presenting world-class content as well as an opportunity to engage with global industry leaders.

“We are obviously saddened not to be able to bring you the incredible programme we had lined up, but we are committed to being socially responsible and doing whatever we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” says Festival Director Dianne Makings. “The health and safety of our delegates, sponsors, staff – and the population at large – is and will remain our highest priority. The good news is that next year CTIAF will be even bigger with an epic four days of events!”

Delegates have a choice between refunding their ticket and rolling it over to the new dates in 2021. This process will be managed hand-in-hand with ticketing partner Howler.

ANNECY GOES VIRTUAL

The rise of the pandemic has forced the industry worldwide to innovate, with many festivals now hosting a virtual event

rather than completely cancelling the programme. Annecy International Animated Film Festival will also be running a digital event from 15-30 June 2020. It will feature an extensive mix of animated film and project competitions, masterclasses, MIFA pitches, meetings and expert presentation resources.

“Developing Annecy 2020 Online is both a technical and human challenge,” Annecy’s organisers said, adding that despite the issues, this was “an obvious choice”. “Our event plays an indispensable role in the entire animation film sector, and is even more reason why we should be here during this unique situation.” Africa was set to be the region honoured at this year’s event and Annecy will no doubt still shine a spotlight on Africa’s burgeoning animation industry in its virtual festival.

ANIMATION SA RESEARCH

Last year Animation SA conducted in-depth research on the South African industry to find out where there are gaps, challenges and how to better develop the industry. They toured the country late last year to showcase their findings and gather further information for how they should proceed. Should you wish to access the study or find out more, please contact chair@animationsa.org.