Afro film festival and animation conference opens in Kingston, Jamaica this weekend

Jamaica will host an international animation conference and the first Afro film festival in the region this weekend.

The March 12-13 event is expected to be attended by hundreds of professional animators and artists from across the globe and the Caribbean region, including executives from Cartoon Network and South Africa’s most successful animation studio, Triggerfish.

This initiative is led by the Jamaica government in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

“Jamaica’s animation industry is maturing and there is scope for more members of our population, and especially our youth, to capitalize on the potentials within the sector,” said newly appointed Energy, Science and Technology Minister Andrew Wheatley.

“Under this new administration, our commitment is not only for job creation but for the development of the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector and to ensure that an increasing number of youths will be able to find gainful employment in this area and to begin creating their own jobs, while maximizing the growing opportunities that are being generated locally and internationally.”

Under the themes of Learn, Earn and Display, KingstOOn 2016 will comprise of an animation conference, a competition for Caribbean artists, a marketplace to link content producers with buyers, and an International Film Festival.

The organizers said a record number of 938 entries from 93 countries were received and entrants will compete for awards in the categories of Storyboard, Character Design, Short Film and Concept in the Regional Competition, and the categories of International Student Film, International Short Film and International Feature Film in the International Film Festival.

KingstOOn is a part of the Youth Employment in Digital and Animation Industries Project.

Caribbean countries that will be represented at KingstOOn include Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, Martinique and Jamaica. Other countries to be represented are Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Spain, Nigeria, Switzerland, Slovakia, South Africa and Tanzania.

“At Cartoon Network Latin America, we support the Latin American animation industry. We are always on the lookout for new talent that can be a great fit for what we do. That is why we are attending KingstOOn: it provides the right setting for us to get a feel of the industry, while at the same time giving us the opportunity to make a contribution to it”, said Hernan LaGreca, Senior Director of Original Productions for Cartoon Network Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Awards will be announced Sunday, March 13. -(CMC)