Caribbean Animators Head To JA for KingstOOn Film Festival

Animation filmmakers from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis and Martinique are among a contingent of 40 (travelling from 15 countries) who have been selected and have accepted the invitation to attend and participate at the KingstOOn International Animation Film Festival. Their films will be screened at KingstOOn on March 12 and 13, as they compete for awards in the categories of International Feature Film, Student Film and Short Film.

"We are thrilled to welcome some of the most talented animators from the Caribbean region and around the world to Jamaica for the KingstOOn International Animation Film Festival, " said Hillary Alexander, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining. "The overwhelming response to the call for entries to the film festival competition and our invitation to come to Jamaica suggests that we are well on the way to realising our goal of KingstOOn being the Caribbean's premier animation industry event."

INTERACT AND ENGAGE

Alexander revealed that finalists from the Caribbean will be joined by others from the USA, - Nigeria, Tanzania Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Colombia and Slovakia.

"We are delighted that with the support of our partners - the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank - we are able to bring in the finalists from the region, and other countries, to present their work, interact and engage with animation enthusiasts who are based here in Jamaica."

Lisa Harding, operations officer at the Caribbean Development Bank, said, "The bank is pleased to facilitate the participation of 16 animators and animation industry stakeholders from Barbados and member states of the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) at KingsTOON 2016. This initiative will expose local and regional talent and creativity to global audiences and educate the general population about the possibilities which can be derived from the animation industry."

HIGHEST POTENTIAL

Most of the films submitted for the KingstOOn International Animation Film Festival explore an Afro-descendant theme, one of the segments that has the highest potential for new

animation content creation and acquisition. Afro-descendant communities account for more than half of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean and constitute a significant proportion of minority groups in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. These communities are potential consumers of Afro-descendant animated content. They are keen to enjoy the stories that speak to their reality, with characters within whom they can recognise themselves; presented against backgrounds and visuals that are familiar to them.

The KingstOOn International Animation Film Festival is a part of the KingstOOn Animation Conference that takes place March 12 and 13 at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston. In addition to the Film Festival, other aspects of the KingstOOn programme are the animation conference, the KingstOOn expo and marketplace which links content producers with buyers, and the KingstOOn Emerging Animators Content Competition.

KingstOOn is an initiative of the Government of Jamaica in collaboration with the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.