One of the most anticipated animation events of the year returns! The Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF) stands as Africa’s premier animation festival, dedicated to inspiring and connecting animation students, enthusiasts and professionals from around the world. Prepare to hone your skills, get updates on industry trends, and dive deep into the vibrant world of animation.
Hosted once again in collaboration with top tech and gaming expo Comic Con, CTIAF isn’t just a showcase of talent; it also provides people with a prime networking opportunity, something essential in this industry. It serves as a global hub for creatives, providing food, snacks, breakfasts, tea, and coffee to facilitate conversations and spark new connections.
There’s also a lineup of captivating talks and workshops, ranging from an opportunity to hear Troy Quane (the director behind ‘Nimona’) to meeting the team behind ‘Twende‘, to having a drawing session with local animator Jeani Varty.
Talks at CTIAF: Highlights
As someone always interested in the process and behind-the-scenes of animation, I’m looking forward to talks that take me into the creation and development of animation. These talks are great for those looking for inspiration to bring their project to life either through their own creative endeavours or the process of pitching it to a larger audience. Here are a few highlights:
Claudio Meireles, Head of Communities & Influencer Marketing at Chaos: The power of collaborative communities
Claudio will be announcing the Partners in Art Campaign, Cape Town THU Talent League and The Vivid Voices programme. These are all exciting opportunities for the members of the animation community who have upcoming projects that need development and funding.
When: 12pm Saturday 27 April
André de Villiers: Maya Animation Workflow & Pro Tips
Andre de Villiers is the animation director behind ‘Moremi‘ and has contributed to ‘Surf Sangoma‘ and ‘Stardust’ in Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire on Disney+. In this talk Andre shares his sixteen years of experience in animation and how he developed his creative process.
When: 10am Saturday 27 April
Menna Hamdy: One Path, Many Hats – My Animation Journey in Egypt
Menna Hamdy is the Co-director of 1st Totem Problems and Art Director at Giraffics Studio. An award-winning and two-times Annecy-selected Egyptian, Arabic and African animation studio. Menna talks about how working multiple roles in the industry helped her develop skills, that got her to where she is today, a successful award-winning Art Director and Director.
When: 4pm Sunday 28 April
Creators Clyde Beech and Esther Pearl: BTS ‘Boy Kills World’
Excitingly ‘Boy Kills World’ premieres in cinemas during Comic Con weekend. So it’s awesome that attendees get to look behind the scenes with Clyde Beech and Esther Pearl on their creative process of the animated titles used in the film. Attendees who are fans of Local Comics such as Kwezi will know Clyde as an amazing visual artist, whereas Esther is a former Production Manager for Pixar, and the founder of the groundbreaking Reel Stories.
When: 11am Sunday 28 April
Workshops at CTIAF
For those wanting to get more hands-on and pick up some valuable skills at the festival, there is a selection of brilliant workshops. If you are an animation student or an animator and you want to try out new software then you must definitely sign up – these workshops are a great opportunity to learn and gain new skills.
Kim Bussaihn: Want to know how a great story begins?
ToonBoom Solution Specialist & Instructional Designer Kim Bussaihn takes attendees through ToonBoom’s Storyboard Pro. Storyboarding is an incredibly useful skill for an animator or any filmmaker and this workshop gives attendees an idea of how this versatile piece of software can help them refine their process.
When: 3pm Saturday 27 April
Daniel Buckland: Acting for Animators 2.0
Daniel Buckland is a theatrical expert and storyteller. In his workshop, he’ll go through, how attendees can bring animated characters to life by using real acting techniques.
When: 4pm Saturday 27 April
Bill Masuku and Nate Stanton: Storyboarding workshop at CTIAF
As a huge fan of industry icons Nate Stanton and Bill Masuku, I thoroughly recommend attending this workshop. Theye are down-to-earth and personable, and are sure to give fun and interesting tips and tricks on how to make storyboards more dynamic, creating pace and bringing ideas to life visually.
When: 2pm Saturday 27 April
Robyn Daly: Chaos Vantage session
If attendees are interested in 3D animation and want to try out some new software don’t miss this introduction to Chaos Vantage; an immersive tool to explore, with incredible ray tracing capabilities.
When: 12pm Saturday 27 April
Screenings at CTIAF
For those looking to enjoy some top-tier animated short films, CTIAF will be hosting two screening events throughout the event.
The Best of CTIAF 2023 African Film Selection highlights films by African creators from South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. I’m very excited for the premiere of ‘Mask, Sanitizer, Zoom Call, Check!!’ by our friends at Cabblow Studios as well as finding out more about ‘Naledi’ a short film from its creator Lola Aikins.
The other screening guests will want to catch is CTIAF Presents: O!PLA FOCUS ON POLAND vol. 11, which looks at some international animated shorts from Poland. These shorts were all winners of an amazing festival focused on emphasising independent animation and the passion that goes into making these films.
Details on the full lineup of films can be found on the CTIAF website.
HOT TIP: There are so many talks and workshops to list them all here but if you’re still itching for more check out the full lineup on the official CTIAF 2024 schedule. There’s a diverse selection of sessions that cover all aspects of animation, so don’t worry if you miss one as there’s always something happening.
Plan out the schedule and book tickets now because spaces will get snapped up. Oh, and attendees who arrive early for the Autodesk session might even score a tote bag filled with goodies 😉
Cost: R850 (2 Day Access; CTIAF and Comic Con Cape Town) | Book via: Howler
Where: CTICC2
When: 27 & 28 April 2024, 8.30 am – 5.45 pm
Website: Ctiaf.com
Check out Chris’ highlights for Comic Con Cape Town here
