The second Kunjanimation animation festival, which runs in Cape Town from 17
to 21 October, forms part of the France-South Africa Season 2012 and will
comprise four days of workshops and 12 screenings.
According to festival co-director Daniel Snaddon the backbone of the workshop
programme is the Gobelins Masterclasses, presented by Gobelins l’ecole de
l’image in Paris.
“They are widely considered to be the best animation school in the world, and
they are shipping us Dreamworks animator Alexandre Heboyan (Kung Fu Panda,
Monsters vs Aliens) for an intensive five-day course on character animation,’
explains Snaddon.
Kunjanimation was initiated when Nicolas Doyard from the French Institute of
South Africa (IFAS) approached local industry organisation Animation SA with a
proposal from the Annecy International Animation Festival in France – the largest
in the world – to have a small local event to screen some of the best animation
from around the world.
Snaddon explains: “We saw it as an opportunity to create a platform for
animation art and business in South Africa, and decided to add workshops, an
exhibition and more French and local content to the screenings. Thus
Kunjanimation was born.’
One of the goals is to set up a long term exchange with Annecy.
Snaddon continues: “At Kunjanimation this year we’ll be hosting a workshop to
introduce the possibility of setting up a South African stall at MIFA, Annecy’s
market, which would really help to make us a more visible entity to the
international animation community,’ he explains.
The 2012 festival is funded primarily by the France-South Africa Seasons project,
IFAS, the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa and Animation SA
members. Cape Town chairwoman of Animation SA, Canda Kincses, also serves
as a co-director of the Kunjanimation festival.
“We have a number of local schools, studios and individuals providing content in
the form of speakers, art work and animated films, and we have a team of over
20 volunteers. The support for the festival from the local animation community
has been astounding,’ notes Snaddon.
One of highlights of the festival will be the Cape Town premiere of animated
feature film Adventures in Zambezia. “It’s a real coup as it was produced here in
Cape Town,’ says Snaddon.
“We will have a really excellent selection of films showing, including Le Tableau,
presented by its director Jean-François Laguionie and the French sci-fi classic La
Planete Sauvage, both courtesy of our friends it IFAS. There will also be a
selection of the best short films from around the world, courtesy of Annecy. A
selection of South African short films, music videos and ads is being curated by
our team.’
Judd Simantov, formerly lead character technical artist from Naughty Dog
(Uncharted 1&2), will give a talk on rigging for animation and Rob van den Bragt
from BlackGinger will be giving a talk on pipeline.
Comments Snaddon: “We’ll also have presentations by Triggerfish Animation on
their upcoming feature Khumba, a presentation from Johannesburg’s Mind’s Eye
Creative and other really exciting local artists and studios.’
The first Kunjanimation festival in 2011 was held in Johannesburg. “As Animation
SA is a national body with branches in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, our
idea is to ping-pong the festival between our two cities each year. This will give
everyone a years’ break from volunteering and hopefully create some
competition so that the festival grows in scope, ambition and quality,’ explains
Snaddon.
He notes that France is currently the third largest producer of animation – after
the US and Japan – and is considered to have some of the best quality, and
most original animation in the world.
“As an animator myself there are many appealing things about the French
animation industry, including their commitment to quality, their appetite to take
risks on stories that are aimed at a variety of audiences as well as their
relatively excellent working conditions, and these are all things to aspire to here
in South Africa.’
