The Durban FilmMart Institute Announce Its Official Animation Programme For The 2022 Edition

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After expanding into the animation space in last year’s edition, the animation focus at the 13th Durban FilmMart has grown substantially with the help of funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut to support the cultural and creative industries (CCI) in South Africa and a number of other countries in Africa and the Middle East through various projects since 2018.

“Over the last few years there has been an exponential increase of animation productions in Africa. Despite the scarcity of training and development opportunities for animation professionals, there has been notable interest by international networks and broadcasters to purchase African animation content as they see the huge potential of unlocking African consumer markets,” says Magdalene Reddy, General Manager of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “Recognising the growth, skills and energy of the animation industry and the value it brings to the creative economy, DFM has opened up an enlarged space for animators in the 2022 programme.”

The animation programme includes a partnership with Tshimologong through which 10 animation creatives will be given the opportunity to participate at the DFM Pitch and Finance Forum.

 

“Tshimologong is proud to partner with DFM. This is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate festivals collaborating to raise the opportunity and voice of digital creatives in Africa. We have got to create a clear value chain of how a creative can determine the pathway of getting support for their projects based on its stage of development. The broader ecosystem is strengthened through this form of partnership,” says Lesley Donna Williams, CEO Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.

The animation projects in the market are as follows:

Fiction series:
Aminah's Journey (Nigeria) - Producer and Director: Brian O Wilson
Grit (Nigeria) - Producer and Director: Ajibola Adewole-Oyebokun
Hovers (South Africa) - Director: Bokang Koatjia
Knittyville (South Africa) - Producer and Director: Clare Louis
Lolo (South Africa) - Producer: Sithembiso Mpehle and Director: Jeani Varty
The Memory Keepers (South Africa & Côte d'Ivoire ) - Producer: Deidre Jantjies and Director: Roland Oka

Documentary Series:
Jupiter's Cogitations (Burkina Faso) - Producer: Stephanie Launay Director: Moumouni Sodré
Fiction Features:
Kinafo (Côte d'Ivoire) - Producer: Alexandre Charlet Director: Adja Mariam Soro
OKIKI - The Legend of The Half God (Nigeria) - Producer: Joseph Eseme Director: Brian O Wilson
PTD (Prepared To Die) (Nigeria) - Producer and Director: Esther Kemi Gbadamosi
Prior to the Pitching Forum the 2022 DFM projects will receive mentorship assistance from producers and professionals. The mentors for this year are - Vanessa Sinden, award-winning producer of both live action and animated films with more than 20 years of filmmaking experience, and Oliver Catherin who has produced, among others, Kiki of Montparnasse, which won a César for best short animation film. He is also one of the co-founders and administrators of the European Animation Awards (Emile Awards).

 

In collaboration with African Animation Network, the Animation industry sessions at this year’s DFM will feature across both the virtual and physical events; the virtual stream will focus on distribution, production, funding and gaming, while the physical stream will look at distribution, and industry development in the film industry within South Africa. The animation discussions will highlight not just the nuanced differences between animation and live action terrains but engage on the challenges and opportunities that exist for film professionals through animation storytelling mediums.

The speakers for the online segment of Animation @DFM will include discussions with Jérome Soffo Simo (Yaoundé African Cinema Animation), Ariane Suveg (Cartoon Network), Diana Rosu (Accra Animation Film Festival), Tendayi Nyeke (Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire), Francis Y Brown (Animax FYB Studios), Nick Wilson (Fupitoons) and Ziyanda Macingwane (KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission). Emmy-nominated animation writer and director Mike de Seve from Baboon Animation INC, will present in the DFM Conversation series. de Seve has worked extensively in both television and feature films, has been named as a headline speaker in the DFM Conversations stream. A director and writer at Dreamworks, he has honed his craft as a story consultant and project developer across the globe.

REGISTER NOW
DFM 2022 will be presented under the theme ‘Revolution Evolution: Changing the Narrative’ as both an online and physical programme during the period 22-31 July. Registrations are open for both online and physical participation at Durban FilmMart. Visit https://
durbanfilmmart.co.za/dfm-event-2022/ to review the participation options, and to explore the full programme of activities and opportunities on offer.

 

The DFM animation programme is supported by the project “Cultural and Creative Industries”, which is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in cooperation with the Goethe-Institute. By promoting the development of entrepreneurial, digital, creative, and technical skills through training programmes and by strengthening the ecosystem, the project aims to improve employment and income opportunities for creative professionals Africa and in the Middle East.

The Durban FilmMart Institute receives principal funding from the Durban Film Office and the eThekwini Municipality. The DFM 2022 event is kindly supported by the National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission and Wesgro.

BBC Acknowledged African Animation Thanks To Nick Wilson And The Team

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Ridwan Moshood says he spent hours watching cartoons online, taking notes Nigerian animator Ridwan Moshood was so determined to learn how to make cartoons, he spent hours in internet cafés in Lagos, watching YouTube lessons and taking notes.

"I would go to a cyber café, watch video tutorials and write down whatever I'd learnt," he says. Today, the 26-year-old is a rising star in Africa's blossoming animation scene.

Two years ago, he was recognised by the Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab for his animation Garbage Boy and Trash Can.

In what must have felt like sweet revenge, his cartoon was inspired by a bad experience at high school, involving a rubbish bin and school bullies.

"I created Garbage Boy to show others who had been bullied that those names don't define who you are," says Ridwan "Garbage Boy is basically me," he says.

"I was bullied and called names. "I decided to create Garbage Boy as a beacon of hope and forgiveness. And to show others who had been bullied that those names don't define who you are."

He has since formed a production company and he's now hoping to have his latest idea, a cartoon set in Lagos, called In My Hood, commissioned into a series.

Surprisingly, Ridwan Moshood's journey into animation, is not particularly unique.

"All over the continent we hear these stories," says Nick Wilson, the founder of the African Animation Network, who is based in Johannesburg.

He reels off a list of countries where local animators are starting to make their mark: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, South Africa, Mozambique and Burkina Faso.

"Wherever we've been able to scratch the surface and connect the community, we've found pretty exceptional talent and the majority of this talent is self-taught," he says.

But while stories of self-taught animators breaking into the industry are inspiring, more formal training opportunities do need to be developed, he says.

Doh D Daiga is a Cameroonian animator who lives in Burkina Faso. He's responsible for skills and development at the African Animation Network.

"My experience in this industry shows me there exists an immense pool of young, talented and creative minds that never get to the see the day," he says.

"The only problem keeping Africa behind is a lack of training."

Recently, partnerships have been announced with international animation studios Toonz Media Group and Baboon Animation. Both companies plan to establish animation academies in Africa, adding to the handful that exist already.

PAN-AFRICAN PRODUCTION

Despite the scarcity of formal training opportunities, locally-made productions are already starting to take off.

Chris Morgan of Fundi Films was able to draw on a pan-African talent pool for his recent production, My Better World.

The educational series aimed at African school children and young teenagers involved a team of creatives working remotely across the continent.

"We had over 100 producers working in seven different countries, and this was pre-Covid," he says, speaking from Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The end result is a series made up of 55 short animated films that are available in English, Swahili, Hausa and Somali.

In each episode, the characters navigate complex situations - such as negotiations about safe sex - but in a lively and accessible way. As well as a cartoon, each film features an interview with a real-life high achiever, such as Africa's first female pilot.

When it was broadcast in Kenya earlier this year, My Better World quickly became the top rating children's TV show. It was also nominated for this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, one of the world's top animation competitions.

Difficult stories, easily told

But not all African animation work is aimed at the young. Nairobi-based artist and animator Ng'endo Mukii uses the medium to tell stories that are challenging and at times, confronting.

Her most famous film, Yellow Fever, tackles the use of whitening creams by African women.

"I wanted to look at the way women are using skin bleaching products in Kenya, and what we believe is beautiful," she says, adding she wants "to know why".

Other themes covered in her work include migration and people smuggling.

For Ng'endo Mukii, animation is the ideal way to approach sensitive or hard-hitting issues, especially when case studies are involved.

"Animation allows people to have an anonymity and a distance between what they say and how others perceive it," she says.

It also allows people to "not feel necessarily attacked by what you're discussing, so they can maybe engage with it a bit better".

Her work has received numerous international awards including the Best Animated Short at the Chicago International Film Festival for Yellow Fever in 2013.

Covid boosts demand

As more African animators win professional acclaim, international studios are taking note of the continent's grassroots industry.

Last year Netflix acquired its first African animation, Mama K's Team 4 - a cartoon about four teenage girls set in Lusaka, Zambia.

At the same time, foreign companies such as Pixar are hiring Africa-based animators to carry out production services for their films.

In fact, the global market for animated content is booming, according to Rob Salkowitz, a Hollywood and entertainment reporter at Forbes.

"There is an incredible demand for animated content right now. This was true even before the pandemic because the streaming networks are really hungry for new content; and animation is a great way to get viewers from all different audiences," he says.

Demand has increased during the pandemic, as live productions were shut down or limited to socially-distanced teams.

"We are seeing a ripple effect," he says.

With advertisers and other video producers unable to film in the field, those who can afford it, are turning to animation to fill the gap.

"That's putting a lot of demand on the pipeline," he says. "Because professional animation studios are suddenly getting offers they can't refuse from other, non-traditional clients."

'ON A PRECIPICE'

But while more animators are joining the profession in Africa, many are facing an obstacle to getting their content on local screens.

It's cheaper for broadcasters to import ready-made shows from abroad, than fund original productions.

The African Animation Network hopes to overcome that problem by launching its own TV network - if it can attract enough investment.

"Broadcasters are not incentivised to invest in the local industry because they can turn a profit on really cheap [foreign] content," he says.

The channel is currently in a pilot phase and is set to launch in the next few months.

"We're on that precipice of being potentially a thriving and sustainable industry," says Nick Wilson.