The partnership will commence with animation training for women in Dar es Salaam in early 2022, conducted by well-known animator Comfort Arthur.
Earlier this year, Ladima Foundation has announced a partnership with Culture and Development East Africa (CDEA) and Kwetu International Animation Film Festival (KIAFF) to bring training, development, and professional opportunities to women in animation across East Africa.
Let you Voices Roar is a 10-day animation workshop organised for women that will explore the theme of home and belonging and how animation can be used to help one’s voice be heard within and beyond the borders of their communities.
Participants will be enrolled on the Ladima & African Animation Network (AAN) Incubation programme if they complete the training with reasonable proficiency. They will go through in-service training for six months in their country of origin with Ladima’s animation partners.
After completing the incubation course, the participant will be selected for specialisation and paired with a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) and/or Studio Partner for two years.
Strategic partnerships with top African studios from across the spectrum of digital content production will bring together experience and expertise to build a cluster of excellence and provide a turnkey solution offering.
The training will be led by Comfort Arthur, an award-winning, British-born Ghanaian animator, illustrator and visual artist. She trained at the Royal College of Arts in London before moving to Ghana in 2012 to found ‘The Comfy Studio’. Her animated short film Black Barbie has been screened at more than 50 film festivals around the world, earning multiple awards and high critical marks. In 2020 she published her first children’s picture book based on her short film.
Arthur is also Festival Director for FUPiTOONS, the African continent’s first film festival dedicated to short-form animation for kids.
Applications are now open for the training programme that will take place in Dar es Salaam from January 17 -27, 2022. Only women residing in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda are eligible and they must be members of the A-List to apply.
Submission will close on October 23, and participants will be notified in writing if they have been accepted by November 17. Regional travel and specific participation expenses will be covered by the event partners.
