A Case for Animation Production in Kenya

Kwame Nyong’o made a compelling case for Africans to invest more in the animation inductry in Africa.

Actually the figures speak for themselves:

• The worldwide animation industry is estimated to be worth at least $45 billion currently.

• Animation is one of the fasted growing industries in the world, earning Japan more than its steel industry last year.

• The animation gaming industry has been more valuable than film in the USA over the last 4 years.

• In the late 90’s India had hardly any animation to speak of. Today they have hundreds of companies that employ thousands of people and brings in billions of dollars into their economy.

• Animation has become one of the six pillar industries to South Korea’s economy.

So how will Africa make sure it’s not left behind in another opportunity to direct the cultural tone and tell a new story to a waiting world?

After all the world has always been curious about Africa and there are some good examples of popular cultural products on Africa being produced by foreigners on the marketplace.

such as the Lion King and Madagascar….

Once again Africa is in danger of being cast in the supporting role of its own feature story, as the African proverb says “Until the lion learns to write, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter.”

Perhaps the lion is learning to speak, in Kenya at least, where there is a  a growing movement in visual arts in Kenya, such as the works of Cartoon Joseph and Gado

And there is a growing realisation that special talent for animation exists on the African continent now…….there have been some successes such as the award winning Kirikou and the Sorceress produced in 1999 by Michel Ocelot; and Tinga Tinga Tales by Tiger Aspect and Homeboyz being produced currently.

There’s also institutional support for African Animators, from large donors such as UNESCO who run animation training and production workshops. The British Council have also been offering support to animators in Kenya and Kwame is one of the key speakers.

The presentation ended with Kwame with an excerpt from Excerpt from UNESCO 2.0 “Toto’s Journey” (duration: 2 min)  by Alfred Muchilwa and Godfrey Semwaiko