Five Nigerian Animators to Pitch at Prestigious Annecy Film Festival

Yinka Olatunbosun

The Nigerian animation industry is gaining global recognition as five Nigerian animators have been selected to pitch their projects at the 2024 Annecy Film Festival in France, scheduled for June 11 to 15. This opportunity follows a week-long workshop and pitch preparation session at the Alliance Française in Lagos.

The French Embassy in Nigeria, in collaboration with Annecy and MIFA, organised this program to showcase Nigerian animation projects ready for the international market. With support from Animation Nigeria, the workshop aimed to prepare the participants for their final pitch in France.

The selected Nigerian animators and their projects include Omoyefe Majoroh of Align Animation Studio, Project; “Buddy”, Esen Unukogbon of Magic Studio, Project: “NokNok”, and Sagir Carpenter of Gilded Hammer, Project: “Small but Mighty”. Others are Michael Eneje of Tribe Temple Studio, Project: “Legends of Alkebulan”, and Jonathan Reagle Oyiriaru of VX Studio, Project: “Detective Jacqueline.”

Mr. Laurent Favier, the Consul-General of France noted that Nigeria’s animation sector has huge potential and affirmed the French embassy’s commitment to supporting and developing the animation ecosystem in Nigeria through capacity-building opportunities. “The goal is to stimulate cultural entrepreneurship in Nigeria,” he stated.

Explaining the screening process, Christophe Pecot, Audiovisual Attaché revealed a high quality of submissions, making it difficult to choose the five projects from the 24 entries received.

He also said to help the animators pitch their projects effectively, three mentors; Mounia Aram, Delphine Nicolini, and Omotunde Akiode—provided coaching. The goal is for Nigerian animators to attract international support and production opportunities at the Annecy Festival, where they will present their projects to around 80 animation professionals from across the globe.

He said the training was to make sure they convince the professionals so that their projects can be produced.

“It’s not easy to produce animation content in Nigeria. They need to attend international markets to get some international stakeholders. Nigerians are talented, they have incredible stories, the problem is how to pitch the project to attract international stakeholders.

“To sell your project, you have to be very efficient. You have to be coached and mentored to be efficient. This is the third year we are doing this; it started two years ago. Last year, we did a workshop on how to produce animations but this year we are doing pitching because it gives a lot of visibility to them.”

Omoyefe Majoroh, one of the project holders expressed her excitement about the opportunity, noting that it offers a chance to network with industry professionals and gain international exposure. She remarked on the growth of the Nigerian animation industry and the importance of meeting the requirements for a successful pitch. She said, “I and my team already know the requirements for complete pitch selection: Teaser/Proof of Concept, Production Bible, Pilot Script, and Synopses of springboard episodes. We have been working on the project and were happy when the project was selected.”

The Mifa Pitches at Annecy are designed to reveal the best original animation film projects at an advanced stage of development. The event aims to showcase a diverse range of projects, giving animators a platform to present their work to a global audience and potentially secure future support and production deals.