Zambezia, to be produced by Triggerfish Animation Studios, will be the biggest mainstream animated film to be created in South Africa.
At the beginning of July, when the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) announced its financial results, it also confirmed that it had approved an R17m investment in Zambezia. To date the only other animation production to have gained IDC investment was Tim MostertÕs Speedy, a one-minute television series which started life as a cartoon strip in the national newspaper, the Daily Sun.
IDC Media & Motion Pictures Business Unit head Basil Ford said the decision to support Zambezia was based on the IDCÕs assessment that South Africa had the potential to become a global competitor in the international animation market.
“We found the project exciting because we could see the phenomenal production value represented by the pilot of the movie. We felt that by supporting Zambezia we were establishing a standard for quality animation in the country,” says Ford. The IDC is also impressed by the quality of the script and the talent of the team involved.
Read more in the August 2009 issue of Screen Africa
