01 Sep Five Animated Ideas Ready for Animae Caribe Festival
Animae Caribe has consistently provided a platform for learning, sharing and development of our creativity for the development of Caribbean animated content. We have seen projects come to life both with support from the festival and organically. For the first time in its 15 year history the festival will feature five investment ready IP projects coming out of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. The message has been consistent “We need to become creators and not just consumers”. Young dynamic entrepreneurs like Trinidadian Jeunanne Atkins creator of ‘Bim and Bam’ and Alison Latchman creator of ‘Magnus the Mongoose’ from Jamaica and a few others have worked incessantly over the years to develop their stories. With a diaspora driven crowd funding platform and a pitching podium at the festival called “The Fish Hook” (yes it’s an unapologetic play on the Shark Tank programme) we are supporting young entrepreneurs in their attempts to get Caribbean content on the world.
Apura Network out of Suriname is the official crowd funding partner. It is an online Crowd funding & Networking platform with a heart for the Caribbean. Its mission is the creation of social value and impact by offering alternative ways to finance projects. Its diaspora investors are preparing to support all five projects for phase two of the Animae Caribe Animated Ideas Bootcamp. All five projects will be heavily featured at this year’s festival EXPO. Founder of festival Selvon Abrahams stated “The Caribbean Diaspora is made up of hundreds of millions of eyes. We are a lucrative but untapped audience, and this converts into massive buying power. Though there are successes like Disney’s ‘Doc McStuffin’ that cleverly taps into a diverse audience, it is just too few and far between. Plus we may need to consider creating our own path, as traditional broadcasting methodologies are currently being turned on its head. I think the time is right to do this”
Each project will be mentored by members of the Diaspora in the global animation industry. This is a unique but innovative approach to creating diverse content. The mission is to create a place that supports these Caribbean projects which will build a following that will show the world that we WANT to see and hear ourselves. This initiative is supported by the Caribbean Development Bank and Caribbean Export Development Agency. To see all five animated projects go to www.animaecaribe.com/overview/
