Are you an African artist? or do you have a story that you’d like to develop but don’t have the funds for? Triggerfish announced their call for entries for a pan-African story Artist Lab sponsored by Netflix. African artists are rarely given the opportunity to connect with industry experts and when they do it’s hardly ever sponsored by our own government. However, through this project, African artists will have the chance to mingle with industry experts such as Nathan Stanton the creator of movies like Brave, Finding Nemo, Monsters INC. Nathan will lead the shortlisted applicants for three months and the applicant will receive payment as well. The story of Mama K’s Team. Mama K’s team was created in celebration of African girls and it was the first African original animated series on Netflix this was also an attempt to show that the platform gave room to other voices as well. The show was created by a Zambian creator, Malenga Mulendema, she was part of the group of nine women who were placed in the writing room known as 4 all-female writers lab. “Story artists translate screenplays into animatics, the loose first version of the movie that then shapes every step of animation that follows,” says Tendayi Nyeke, Triggerfish’s Zimbabwean-born development executive. “So having skilled story artists from the continent in control of how their stories are told is a gamechanger, not only in grooming the next African directors but also in giving pre-production artists the opportunity to establish their own voice as they bring African stories to life.” If you’re a storyteller, an African with concept art then they are looking for you and you can apply until Friday, 23 July 2021 at https://www.triggerfish.com/storyartistlab/. They must be available full-time for three months from August 2021; remote working is encouraged. Other achievements. Early this year, Triggerfish featured at Annecy International Animation Film Festival Last Week and emerged as the winner in the Animation Industry Award for the “pioneering role that the company has played in animation in South Africa, and Africa most widely.” Recent initiatives to develop the African animation industry include the Triggerfish Story Lab, a pan-African talent search that has already seen two series greenlit for the world stage: Mama K’s Team 4 for Netflix and Kiya for eOne, Disney Junior and Disney+, as well as the free Triggerfish Academy online training course.
