New Cartoon Network Initiative for Animation Talent in Africa

Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab is a brand-new initiative designed to bring innovative, local short-form content to Cartoon Network Africa and its digital platforms and to bolster the local creative community.

The initiative is meant to encourage African talents—creators, writers, graphic artists, animation students, etc.—to explore their creative, animation and production talents and have the chance to produce a short-form animated comedy to be seen by Cartoon Network viewers across Africa. Entries for the Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab will be open until August 31 across the continent.

African residents, aged 18 and over, or any African-based company, can submit their one-minute to three-minute creative short project, which must fall in the comedy genre and fit with Cartoon Network’s values of random, irreverent, smart and contemporary humor. Ten projects will be short-listed in September, and the local creators will have the opportunity to pitch their work to Cartoon Network Africa’s content programming team. The winner and two runners-up will then be revealed at DISCOP Johannesburg later this year.

The winner and runners-up will be given the opportunity to get their project produced as a pilot with Cartoon Network Africa, which will then premiere on Cartoon Network Africa and its digital platforms in 2019.

“As sponsors of the DISCOP 2016 Animation Pitching Programme, we were exposed to some really inspiring local animation projects,” said Ariane Suveg, the head of programming and acquisition for Turner Kids Africa. “We were so impressed by Cape Town-based Punch Monkey Studio’s amazing creative energy in the winning entry, Cloud Life, that the project has been traveling through the Turner group and is now in a development process with the Turner Asia Pacific production team! This just reinforces our need to invest in local content and our commitment to further mentoring talent in the African animation industry.”

Suveg added, “We are honored to be supporting local African animation talent through the Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab. We look forward to seeing the entries and hope to see the winners flourish in their career as content creators, following the footsteps of some of Cartoon Network’s greatest talents.”