The UN is backing eight Cape Town-based animation studios

The South African animation industry is set to receive a notable boost thanks to a United Nations-backed initiative.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has created a new accelerator aimed at animated studios in South Africa, and eight Cape Town-based studios have been chosen as part of the first cohort.

The accelerator is being run with support from the Government of Japan, and will be a part of the UNDP’s timbuktoo Creatives Hub. Locally, partners are Digital Frontiers and the Triggerfish Foundation.

The accelerator will take the guise of an eight-month programme aimed at strengthening the founder-led studios selected in order to prepare them for commercial readiness, market positioning and pathways to market, investment, and grow sustainably.

“Africa’s creative industries can be an important source of jobs and growth, but only if creative businesses can attract investment and compete in global markets. When African studios own the stories they create, more of that value stays on the continent. This accelerator helps studios make that shift, from producing content for others to building companies that investors can back. Japan, home to one of the world’s leading animation industries, is a natural partner in that effort, and we look forward to building stronger ties between the Japanese and South African animation sectors,” noted Gloria Kiondo, deputy resident representative for UNDP South Africa, in a release shared with Hypertext.

A still from Aau’s Song, part of the Star Wars: Visions anthology. Courtesy of Lucasfilm.

As for the eight animations studios that have been selected as part of the first cohort, they are as follows:

• Bugbox Animation

  – A studio with a track record spanning more than 20 years. Co-founders Candice and Tim Argall won the Animation du Monde pitch competition during the 2015 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market in France for their series Musi & Cuckoo.

• Fancy Horse Studios

  – Won the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize for its Permian Waterhole installation at Karoo Origins: the Fossil Centre. A founding member of AnimationSA, Colin Payne recently won a National Arts Council Award for Karoo Origins. Co-founder of the Cape Town International Animation Festival, Dianne Makings produced Aau’s Song for Star Wars: Visions.

• Goon Valley

  – An animated explainer company expanding into original content. Co-founder Nadia Darries co-wrote and co-directed Aau’s Song, as part of the Star Wars: Visions anthology, sharing its Annie Award for Best Music: TV/Media.

• Lucan

  – The production company behind the Emmy- and Annie-nominated Moremi, from the Disney+ anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.

• Motif Studios

  – Led by Craig Parker and Jacques Bock, bringing 15 years of animation and VFX experience. Their 50+ combined credits include Mad Max: Fury Road, as well as Surf Sangoma from the Disney+ anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.

• Pixcomm

  – Won the NHK Japan Prize for Zizi and Hannibal and produced 10 seasons of Jabu’s Jungle, distributed across more than 40 countries. Founder Nic Buchanan co-founded the hit soccer comics and animation franchise Supa Strikas and has the rights to produce an animated biography of Nelson Mandela.

• Sparks Flew Development Studio

  – Specialises in storyboarding and script development. Co-founders Julia Smuts Louw and Daniel Snaddon collaborated on Magic Light Pictures’ International Emmy-winning adaptation of The Smeds and the Smoos. Other clients include Lucasfilm, Netflix and Sony. Their original feature, Spike, is in production with Submarine and Diprente.

• Studio Bo

  – An animation and games company that has been adding original IP to their usual output of explainer videos and interactive animation. Their upcoming pilot, Animal Therapy, is a cosy musical series that aims to help young children understand their emotions better through beautiful visuals and catchy songs.

It will be interesting to see what this eight-studio cohort can produce following their time in the accelerator, as well as which local studios are chosen in the next cohort.

[Images – Provided]

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