FUPiTOONS/Annecy 2020 Special Call!

FUPiTOONS/Annecy 2020 Special Call!

FUPiTOONS FESTiVAL is travelling to Annecy 2020! In recognition of this honour the partners are announcing a FUPiTOONS/Annecy 2020 Special Call, the entry deadline is 6 October 2019.

FUPiTOONS/Annecy 2020 Special Call

Please submit your projects HERE using the Submission Waiver Code: FUPIANNECY2020 (NB: this is only for African filmmakers).

Africa is the territory of honour at Annecy 2020 and is parallel to the Institut FrançaisAfrica 2020 Creative Season. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase the stories Africa has.

The regular deadline for submissions to FUPiTOONS 2019 ended on 22 September and according to Comfort Arthur, FUPiTOONS FESTiVAL Director; “We’ve already received an astonishing 700 submissions (a 180% increase year-on-year) but, with the festival travelling to Annecy 2020, we want to ensure that we showcase the widest diversity and highest quality of African animated content possible.  This left us with no alternative but to launch the FUPiTOONS/Annecy 2020 Special Call!

Marcel Jean, Annecy Festival’s Artistic Director added; “FUPiTOONS will be part of an opportunity for festival-goers at Annecy to discover a still far too little known cinematography. Partnering with AAN and FUPiTOONS gives the fledgling festival an opportunity to build broader networks with creators and producers across Africa and develop larger audiences for African produced content across the continent.  In return, Annecy has an exciting addition to the 2020 festival program!

Annecy, or more specifically its marketMIFA– has “not waited to work with Africa”, says Veronique Encrenaz Head of MIFA, “We had a focus on Africa in 2015. It brought the MIFA pitching competition to Africa. This led to us launching Animation du Monde and a series of preliminary rounds across 5 regions on the continent. Which has brought African talent to pitch on a global stage ever since. We want to show the world what we have seen coming from the continent.”

In 2017 the African Animation Network (AAN) launched FUPiTOONS, an animation short film festivalMade in Africa for Kids”. It takes short films from various creators across the continent and combines them to fit a feature length film runtime. The festival debuts alongside DISCOP Johannesburg each year before embarking on a continent-wide tour in the succeeding calendar year.  The festival has travelled across Africa (to 9 events in 2018 & +11 events in 2019) and featured during an African showcase at the 2018 Animage Festival in Brazil.

The pressure is on. With only a few weeks left before FUPiTOONS 2019 premieres at this year’s DISCOP Johannesburg, there isn’t much time left to get your project seen by Comfort Arthur, one of Africa’s most celebrated animation directors, and her team of judges. “It is my hope to use FUPiTOONS as a way to inspire those who see it. The great thing about making it a festival for children is that it reaches kids and their adults.” Comfort explained, “It’s about celebrating Africa in all its glory!

“We are excited about FUPiTOONS being part of the official Annecy 2020 program.” says Nick Wilson, AAN’s Head of Projects & Content; “The quality of the entries have improved year-on-year. And, we see it as an opportunity to bring attention to Africa’s stories, and AAN as a potential partner to bring them to life.”

The opportunity to be part of Annecy’s Africa 2020 focus is HERE! (The entry deadline is 6 October 2019. Please use the Submission Waiver Code: FUPIANNECY2020, NB: this is only for African filmmakers).

Subscribe to our newsletter and keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for news on when the preliminary rounds will be in your region!

 

Growing African animation with Mounia Aram Company

Growing African animation with Mounia Aram Company

Growing African animation with Mounia Aram Company

Building towards a sustainable animation industry in Africa requires innovation. The African Animation Network has had to do a lot of that since its inception. It started with being a pro-profit, talent-driven, social enterprise, and included setting up a structure across the continent. Our team members can be found in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.

MOUNIA ARAM COMPANY

We are excited to partner with Mounia Aram Company and welcome Mounia Aram to the team as Head of Content Acquisitions & Channel Distribution. Mounia doesn’t only bring the Moroccan flavour with her but over 16 years worth of experience in the animation industry. She started her career in anime working for ShoPro Entertainment. She’s worked for North American and European animation industries

MOUNIA ARAM

Of all the industries she’s encountered, Africa left a gaping hole. This spurred her on to create the Mounia Aram Company. Her mission is to bring the world’s attention to the diversity of African stories in animation

Mounia is bringing her passion and experience to AAN. We share a mission and vision for the African industry. Especially as audiences are making their hunger for unique and diverse stories known. The continent has an important role to play in satisfying people’s thirst for story.

Although she is based in ParisMounia’s heart is firmly planted in Africa. As a child of the continent she understands that for many millennia, African stories carry the DNA of villages, tribes,and civilisations. This makes her an invaluable member to the AAN team.

“Working in a developing animation industry in a continent that is also developing, has many challenges. Mounia’s insights, born from her experience and passion, are key to the kind of innovation required to create a sustainable industry.” said Nick Wilson Head of Projects, AAN.

Mounia explains, ” In the animation industry representations of diversity are rare, especially when it comes to African characters and stories. The sector lacks animated contents. It is particularly surprising as the continent is so wide and rich in stories and talented people. My goal with Mounia Aram Company and my appointment at AAN is to bring the best animated content from Africa to the international market, by spreading the beautiful and inspiring African stories to the kids outside Africa. Working with AAN will provide the best exposure to African animation and achieve part of my goal”.

We at AAN have seen how important it is for children from Africa to see themselves represented in the cartoons they watch. The art form not only has the ability for kids to believe in themselves but reach out to the world with their imaginations. Stories also have the ability to change people’s perception about each other.

Mounia shares how animation influenced her, “I was born in CasablancaMorocco, and I grew-up in France. As a kid, I always had a passion for cartoons, video games and African cultures and languages. After Arabic languages and civilization studies, I had the opportunity to join ShoPro Entertainment, a company specializing in Japanese animation based in San Francisco. I had found my dream job and never left the industry”.

The future of the African animation industry is exciting. From the creatives who are self taught to AAN team members who are passionate about making it into the best it can be.

Subscribe to our newsletter and keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for news on when the preliminary rounds will be in your region!

 

Animation du Monde 2020 NAICCON’s Winning Crop!

Animation du Monde 2020 NAICCON’s Winning Crop!

Animation du Monde 2020 NAICCON’s Winning Crop!

ANNECY FESTIVAL ANIMATION DU MONDE

Nairobi Comic Con hosted Animation du Monde for the second year. East Africa produced a bumper crop of animation talent for penultimate Animation du Monde 2020 preliminary round in Sub-Saharan Africa. Like always, only 3 could be chosen to go through to the Animation du Monde 2020 African Continental Final taking place at DISCOP Johannesburg.

  • Agent 254 by Lydia Mugure (Kenya)
  • Rosa’s Diary  by Ndanusa Danjuma Judah (Nigeria)
  • The Fam by Kabelo Maaka (South Africa)

The Fam had been entered into a previous edition of Animation du Monde. Like so many other projects, Kabelo did not make it through to the continental final. Unlike many others, Kabelo took the feedback the judges gave her. She improved her pitch to win the day at NAICCON 2019

One of the core missions of Animation du Monde is to teach creatives that it’s not the winning that matters but the journey. Failure is part of the creative process. Because, as an individual, it is important to stand up and try again

The final Sub Saharan preliminary round of Animation du Monde 2020 is taking place at Lagos Comic Con. Which is an opportunity to enter for the first time or your second, third, or even umpteenth time. The competition regulations can be viewed HERE.

Animation du Monde 2020 ends Sub-Saharan run @ Lagos Comic Con!

As a developing animation industry, Africa and its creatives have to take every opportunity to learn. We might have unique stories to tell. But, we still have to develop our creative sensibilities. Something that the judges that sit on the Animation du Monde panels have helped with

If you have a project that you would like to enter, please click HERE. Who knows, you might represent Africa at the Animation du Monde 2020 Grand Finale in Annecy!

Subscribe to our newsletter and keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for news on when the preliminary rounds will be in your region!