Storytellers! there’s a Netflix sponsored Africa artists lab that you have to check out

Studio Triggerfish and Netflix have partnered up to launch a pan African Story Artists Lab. If you are unfamiliar with Triggerfish or vaguely remember the name, it’s the studio that worked with Disney to bring about the Kizazi Moto Anthology Movie that features Zimbabwe’s own Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove.

The Story Artist Lab builds on the success of their Mama K’s Team 4 all-female writers lab, which saw nine African women placed in the writing room for the first animated Netflix series from Africa.

“Story artists translate screenplays into animatics, the loose first version of the movie that then shapes every step of animation that follows”

“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.”  

Tendayi Nyeke, Triggerfish’s Zimbabwean-born development executive

The Triggerfish x Netflix Story Lab is open to all African citizens and the shortlisted applicants will have three months of paid skills development with international industry experts. Nathan Stanton, a story artist on Oscar-winning features like Brave, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc, will lead the training program. 

Citizens of African countries with concept art and/or storyboarding portfolios can apply until Friday, 23 July 2021 with the link here. They must be available full-time for three months from August 2021 and remote working is encouraged. 

Triggerfish recently featured prominently at Annecy International Animation Film Festival last week, winning the 2021 Mifa 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. 

You should also check out:

• Two Zim content creators have been selected to make a Disney movie
• African media house Kugali partners with Disney on animated series