KingstOOn Pitch-Winning Students Ink Deal with Sesame Street

KingstOOn has revealed that a local production team that includes two University of the West Indies (UWI) students is set to produce an animated short film for the 52nd season of Sesame Street.

The team was selected from a pool of entrants in a call for pitches from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, during this year’s KingstOOn Animation Conference and Film Festival, which took place from April 21 to 25. The team’s short film that will appear on the forthcoming season of Sesame Street is entitled 11 Robot Reggae Band.

The winning production team includes animation majors at UWI’s Caribbean School of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) Chevon Irving and Tajha Winkle, with local animator George Hay on board as their project advisor/mentor.

KingstOOn was organized by the Government of Jamaica through the Youth Employment in the Digital and Animation Industries (YEDAI) Project, in collaboration with the World Bank. The objectives of KingstOOn are to provide Jamaican and Caribbean animators with ways to continue learning about the global industry, create opportunities for producers to generate profits from their projects and to showcase diverse content from around the world. The call for pitches was organized by the KingstOOn Animation Conference and Film Festival and Sesame Workshop, and was open to Jamaican citizens as well as permanent residents enrolled as students.

Irving said: “We are beyond words. It’s truly a great honor for us to be working on a project for Sesame Street. The whole world will be seeing this. It’s a very big deal!”

Kimberly Wright, Sesame Street film producer, said: “We are so excited to commission entitled 11 Robot Reggae Band for our season 52 lineup, and to work with Chevon, Tajha and George. Sesame Street has a long history in Jamaica—first through its partnership with Beaches Resorts and now with KingstOOn. We’re pleased to continue showcasing the invaluable talent of local animators and artists.”