Movies, animation, comics, gaming and tech. Want to know what’s happening in Africa and beyond? Here’s the Run Down for this week.
NEWS OUT OF AFRICA – Digital Art/Animation
Kugali Media Kickstart A New Project
Pan-African animation and comic book studio, Kugali Media have hinted that they have a brand new project in the works.
The company announced the project on their Twitter page after sharing that they would be exhibiting at ComicCon, London where they would offer glimpses into the new project titled, Murenga.
No other details on the project have been shared as yet.
Check out more @KugaliMedia on Twitter
Triggerfish Animation Studios Tease Tribe
Award-winning animation studio, Triggerfish, have announced a script for animated feature film, Tribe.
Tribe is written by Tendayi Nyeke and designed by Mogau Kekana. Nyeke has contributed immensely to the Comexposed Community, first as a speaker at the Comexposed Convention 2017 and most recently as a facilitator at Converge 2021 where she talked about opportunities for local digital artists and story tellers on local productions for Netflix, Showmax and the like.
Mogau Kekana, is a concept and storyboard artist based in Johannesburg and the creator of animated short film Red Ants which premiered at the Annecy International Film Festival, 2021.
Tribe’s tagline reads “Divided by magic. Connected by a mother’s love.” The script has been selected for the Mifa pitch at Annecy Animation Film Festival, 2022.
Check out more @TriggerfishAnimationStudio on Facebook
NEWS BEYOND AFRICA – Animation/Entertainment
Animation TV, The First Black – Owned Animation Studio
With a desire to bring more diversity and inclusivity into the animation studio, husband and wife duo Jermaine and Whateka Hargrove founded what is being dubbed as “the first-ever Black animation streaming network.”
With this new platform, Animation TV, the Hargroves desire to “amplify the voices the sometimes go unheard.”
In line with this vision, the network will partner with Small Town Animation Studios to deliver original and exclusive content namely, diabetic superhero movie Gumshe: The Type 1 Protector, faith-based series The Sunday Schoolers and other original titles such as Animate My Life, Princess Tatenda, Shelly: The Dancing Spider, Welcome to Gamerville.
Apart from that, the husband and wife duo plan to partner with major studios to plan theatrical releases of their IP as well as leverage NFTs and the Metaverse in sharing more inclusive content
But that’s not it. The Hargroves also intend to use their platform to give back to the community.
Aspiring Animators Get Opportunities With Animation TV
Animation TV has partnered with The Animation School in South Africa and KitBash3D as well as other renowned animation educators and resource providers to help create opportunities for burgeoning animation professionals.
The Hargroves have also committed to investing part of the platform’s revenue to scholarships for students in over looked communities.
Animation TV will offer content with a subscription and a linear channel model. It will also be made available on numerous operating systems globally, including, Android, Android TV, iOS and TV OS.
Find out more https://www.ebony.com/entertainment/tv_film/first-ever-black-owned-animation-network-to-premiere-summer-2022/