Triggerfish Animation Studios have narrowed down the whopping great response to its all for submissions for the inaugural Triggerfish Story Lab to produce a short list of 23 features and 12 TV series from the 1,378 pan-African entries it received. The studio had planned to announce just 10 of each, but the quality of the projects has seen them expand the race. The shortlisted entries will be part of a series of workshops in Cape Town in November with Hollywood Script Consultant Pilar Alessandra and Orion Ross, Disney Channel EMEA VP of Content – Animation, Digital and Acquisitions.
Alongside a wealth of emerging talent, the shortlist includes top African creatives like Nnedi Okorafor, a World Fantasy Award winning novelist; Charlie Human, whose debut novel Apocalypse Now Now is currently being adapted by District 9’s Terri Tanchel; award-winning picture book author Alex Latimer; and multi-award-winning directors Donovan Marsh, Hanneke Schutte, Jenna Bass and Wanuri Kahui.
The shortlisted feature film entries are:
The Big Wild (Ian Pugh)
Born Flea (Andrew Phillips)
Bru and Boegie (Mike Scott)
The Camel Racer (Wanuri Kahui and Nnedi Okorafor)
The Crash (Julia Smuts Louw)
Dropped (Ian Tucker)
Elliot’s Journey (Judy Kibinge)
Fish Out of Water (Matthys Boshoff and Carina Stander)
The Legend of the Rain Queen (Hanneke Schutte)
The Life Factory (Howard James Fyvie)
Lights (Kay Carmichael)
The Little Five (Alex Latimer)
The Loneliest Satellite (Charlie Human)
Make Believe Maya (Nimrod Geva)
The Makers (Sheldon Bengston)
Molly and the Quarks (Donovan Marsh)
Mumbo Jumbo Bambinos (Mbuso Thulani Shiburi)
Paris in Africa (Yolanda Makalaza)
Paradox City (Greig Cameron)
True Colours (Bernard Bruwer)
The Wild Waste (Naseem Hoosen)
Witches Way (Jenna Bass and Chinelo Unwualo)
Zahrah the Windseeker (Wanuri Kahui and Nnedi Okorafor)
The shortlisted TV series are:
Chicken Core (Shina Ajulo)
Folklore (Andile Ngcizela)
Gullivan’s Loft (Jenny Verwoerd and Stephen van Wyk)
Herbert Smelly Pants (Denzil Lewis)
KC’s Super 4 (Malenga Mulendema)
Matchbox Monsters (Sue-Mari L. Sauer)
Ninja Princess (Marc Dey)
Onion Boy (Sarah Scrimgeour)
Sam and Sbu (Lori Reardon and John Reardon)
Sophie the Giantslayer (Kay Carmichael)
Uncanny Valley (Nicholas Rix and Moray Rhoda)
Wormholes (Lucy Heavens)