Cape Town International Animation Festival opens in March with Oscar nominee film

The CTIAF provides a platform and marketplace for the fast-growing African animation industry. This year it received 221 entries for submissions from 40 countries.

“We are celebrating the depth of our internationally recognised South African talent, while presenting the opportunity for industry players to gain access to global icons in the field,” says festival director, Dianne Makings. “We aim to promote and be a gateway for the African industry, while connecting animation creators from around the world.”

Revolting Rhymes © Magic Light Pictures

Oscar nominee

There will be a screening of My Life as a Courgette, which recently was announced as an Academy Award Nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. It won at the European Film Awards, in the same category, as well as Crystal and Public Awards at the Annecy International Film Festival and was Switzerland’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

This stop-motion feature film is adapted from Gilles Paris’ book about children and the strength of resilience amongst a group of friends, advocating empathy, comradery, sharing and tolerance. To view the trailer, click here.

Revolting Rhymes African premiere

This year, in collaboration with Design Indaba, the CTIAF will be presenting the African premiere of Revolting Rhymes, an adaptation of a Roald Dahl / Quentin Blake classic, which premiered on BBC 1 at Christmas, produced by Magic Light Pictures and animated by Triggerfish Animation Studios.

Coinciding with the one hundredth anniversary of Dahl’s birth, the two films combine the classic fairy tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella, serving them with a mischievous twist. Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer, both former Annecy winners and Oscar nominees, direct the two films. To view the trailer, click here.

Other events

The Festival also hosts business-to-business sessions, producer events, networking opportunities and government panel discussions, in addition to student competitions, an outreach programme and outdoor screenings. Nat Abraham and Craig McGillivray, the president and vice president of distribution from the Canada-based Breakthrough Entertainment Inc will also make an appearance.

Attendees may expect talks from Nick Animation Studio's Farnaz Esnaashari-Charmatz, who was post-production supervisor on Dora The Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! and creator of the Shimmer and Shine series, as well as producer Ivan Rouveure from Les Armateurs whose work includes the Oscar nominated film The Secret of Kells.

Veronique Encrenaz will also present on how to make your pitch and projects stand out from the crowd. With nearly thirty years’ experience in the industry, Encrenaz is project manager at MIFA (Marché International du Film d’Animation), which is associated with the Annecy Animation Film Festival.

Vanessa Sinden from Story Lab will host a workshop on ‘How to prepare and present your pitch bible’. Other speakers include storyboarder and visual development artist Marc Moynihan, who has worked with Aardman Animation and Simon’s Cat; Mike Buckland, head of production at Triggerfish Animation Studios; Autodesk applications engineer Dane Chapman, who helps clients build 3D environments and creative director and production designer Ree Treweek.

There will be panel discussions on skills building initiatives and transformation in the industry, talks about funding and the results of the recent animation survey.

Gaming, exhibitions

“Nick Hall, Glenn Gillis and Pippa Tshabalala are just some of the keynote speakers to address the gaming sector,” says Makings. “A new addition this year is an exhibition space where animators can get feedback on their portfolios from industry experts. Other films include the best of the Annecy Festival. Tickets to workshops and screenings sell out quickly so I advise people to book early and check their venue ahead of time.”

External events

The schools’ student competition has been extended to include high schools this year, with Nickelodeon once again sponsoring the opportunity for one student to do an internship at Nickelodeon in the US.

The Outreach programme has also grown and will be hosted at the Isivivana centre in Khayelitsha. There will be movies in the morning, drawing classes with Draw for Life and various workshops to teach the fundamentals of animation.

Sponsors

The CTIAF is made possible thanks to support from sponsors the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF); Wesgro; Animation SA and the French Institute of South Africa. CTIAF has also partnered with Nickelodeon, South African Airways and Draw for Life.

Its creative partner this year is Tulips and Chimneys that designed the 2017 branding. It works across books, film, character design, concept development, illustration, animation direction and production design and will soon be re-releasing its fantasy book, The Tale of How.

Ticket prices

Screenings cost from R40. A full Festival pass (valid 3 - 5 March) costs from R100 to R500. A day pass costs R350 (both tickets include all events except the masterclasses). Bookings can be made at Webtickets. For more information, go to www.ctiaf.com.