Take a bow Diprente you’re in the news
TRADE and Industry Minister Rob Davies has hailed a local black-owned media company following its award-winning pitch at the annual Annecy International Animation Festival in France.
Davies has congratulated Diprente, a black youth media company, and welcomed Diprente’s commitment to job creation among the youth.
The Annecy International Animation Festival and Market is the global animation industry’s leading showcase for co-producing, purchasing, selling, financing and distributing animation content.
The company won the global TV Series and Specials Mifa Pitches as well as the Disney.
The company was also congratulated for their transformation and skills development programme where they source young talent with an emphasis on identifying, hiring and up-skilling previously disadvantaged individuals.
Diprente’s executive Isaac Mogajane said the win was an exciting milestone for their animation studio.
“As we are about to begin production on our first animated series, Anansi, having a second show celebrated on the global stage and receiving attention from companies such as Disney further validates the international appeal of the content that the company and the country is creating,” Mogajane said.
Davies said the commitment of Diprente in skills development and local recruitment further supported and motivated other emerging black-owned production companies and producers active within the sector and served as an example of the talent and creativity available within South Africa.
“It’s encouraging to see black animators entering the space which is still white-dominated.
“The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) is committed to ensuring that transformation take place in sectors that are regarded as specialised.
“This success builds on that achieved by fellow South African company Triggerfish Animation Studios who over the last two years have won the top prize for TV production at Annecy, and are in competition for the same prize this year with their work on the BBC1 Christmas special Highway Rat.
“The Department of Trade and Industry, through its Sector Specific Assistance Programme (SSAS), funded 20 animation companies to participate at the 2018 Animation Film Festival,” said Davies.
Diprente, which has been active since 2009, has produced numerous feature films, television series and branded content campaigns, some of which were supported by the dti film incentives.
The company has been nominated for two international Emmy awards, won numerous Saftas and is the first South African company to produce a Netflix Original feature film, Catching Feelings.
It recently launched an animation studio in Joburg which will kick off with a globally sold kids’ series Anansi.