The Franco-African initiative builds "bridges" for emerging entertainers

A new innovative project to develop an African animation series has been established by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in collaboration with international mentors and local experts from the Gobelins School of Visual Arts, Diprente Studios and Tshimologong Animation Academy.

Proper name ponti, the initiative's goal is to create a platform for emerging African talent to be introduced into the global film and animation markets.

The series will consist of 10 original one-minute short films and will ultimately develop a library of engaging and entertaining films that contribute to the growth and development of the local animation industry. With genres ranging from comedy, action, drama, science fiction, satire and fantasy, the ponti mentors are working with creators to help them realize their visions in the most vivid and fun way possible.

The first film, red ants, was created by Mogau Kekana, a concept and storyboard artist from Hillbrow, Johannesburg, who is currently studying for his Master of Arts at Gobelins. It's a heartbreaking story about Khaya, a young South African eviction officer - called the Red Ant - who becomes both executioner and victim, when he himself is evicted from his own home, and the viewer also watches as an old man falls out of a window because he prefers to take off. life rather than losing your home.

In a minute, the tragedy and irony of Kekana's story are told with a moving clarity that not only showcases her creative potential, but indicates the effectiveness of the mentors IFAS works with to support the talent she is. been selected to participate in the ponti program.

In South Africa, specialist skills are rare and several studios in the gaming industry, for example, have resorted to outsourcing their animation requirements to other countries. To increase capacity development, Gobelins alumni and Tshimologong graduates are assisting young talents in every step of the conception, script and production of their films.

"There is a wealth of untapped talent across Africa, and ponti it will give these artists the opportunity to assert their voices and African aesthetics, "said Erika Denis, IFAS regional head of media, cinema and music."ponti it will help diversify the global pool of highly qualified animators and contribute to the development of a sustainable animation ecosystem by strengthening the breadth and depth of local skills ".

With increasing internet penetration and access to multimedia devices, consumers are spending more time streaming digital content. Video streaming is the fastest growing distribution channel for animation and is seeing double-digit growth (for Research and Markets Forecasts of the global animation, visual effects and video games sector for the period 2020-2025; January 20, 2020). Furthermore, with the growing recognition of Africa's emerging creative economy, the continent is poised to help meet global demand for new programming and production capacity.

"This trend should continue," noted Isaac Mogajane, CEO of Diprente Studios, "then ponti is paving the way for a new generation of African creatives to become stars in the global film and animation industry. "

red ants was recently completed and premiered at the Annecy International Animation Festival. The next two films are already in development. "We aim to complete the series within the next 12 months, so our main goal at this stage is to engage with partners who are equally motivated to support and connect with the budding talent we are working with," added Mogajane.

Follow ponti on Twitter, Facebook and Twitter: @bridges_africa_