Asylum 2018 hosted the fourth round of the Pan-African Annecy – MIFA Pitches Animation du Monde.

Nini image courtesy of Sharack Munene, 1 of the top 2 projects pitched @ Asylum 2018
The shortlisted projects that competed at Asylum 2018 (in no particular order) were:
- Four.Fiver.One represented by Jackson Onyango Konyango (Kenya)
- Kara represented by Lydia Mugure (Kenya)
- Nini represented by Shadrack Munene (Kenya)
- Relief represented by Mumo Liku (Kenya)
- Nairopolis represented by Anton Omondi (Kenya)
- Surface represented by Harto Muhato (Kenya)
- The Next Rainbow represented by Salim Busuru (Kenya)
After an extremely tight round of competition, the judges’ decision was unanimous and the 2 projects selected to compete in the continental final at DISCOMICS Joburg (in no particular order) are:
- Nini represented by Shadrack Munene (Kenya)
- The Next Rainbow represented by Salim Busuru (Kenya)

The Next Rainbow image courtesy of Salim Busuru, 1 of the top 2 projects pitched @ Asylum 2018
EXPANDED FOOTPRINT:
Asylum 2018 is the largest pop culture event in East Africa– a partnership between Nairobi Comic Con (NAICCON) and Pro Series Gaming (PSG)- and was the fourth of 5 events in Africa that is hosting a regional round of the Annecy – MIFA Pitches Animation du Monde. An expanded footprint of events is made possible through a partnership with DISCOMICS. DISCOMICS is a new enterprise founded by DISCOP Markets and the African Animation Network in partnership with ICON Comic & Gaming Convention (ICON CGC), Lagos Comic Con (LCC) and NAICCON.
2 projects will be selected from each event and invited to attend the continental Grand Finale at DISCOMICS Joburg (14-17 November):
- LCC, Lagos, Nigeria, 15 September (NB: Entries open 24 July & close 31 August: register HERE)
NB: LCC is the final round of competition of the Annecy – MIFA Pitches Animation du Monde and we will be accepting video pitches for those that are unable to attend the event.
GRAND FINALE:
At the Grand Finale at DISCOMICS Joburg 2 projects will be selected to represent Africa and compete against their global counterparts at Annecy/MIFA 2019. A high percentage of projects that are pitched at Annecy/MIFA go on to secure finance and/or co-production partners. Ingrid Agbo’s L’arbre à Palimpseste, the project which represented Africa at Annecy/MIFA 2018, went on to close a pre-sale with Gulli Africa for a series.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT:
Perhaps the biggest value for entrants who proceed to the Grand Finale at DISCOMICS Joburg is the Annecy MIFA – Animation du Monde – Skills Programme which includes pitching workshops, training sessions and one-on-one meetings with 3 industry experts selected by Annecy/MIFA ahead of the Grand Finale.