The 2020 Edition of Lagos International Festival of Animation, LIFANIMA will hold from June 4-6, 2020 according to the organisers, USP Brand Management.
“It is becoming very obvious that animation is the next big thing for Africa and the whole world is now paying attention to this continent. Using animation to tell our African stories is the next step towards changing the Africa narrative.
LIFANIMA provide the platform for realizing that vision and achieving optimum value creation and rapid growth of the animation film industry”, says Muyiwa Kayode, Festival Director and Creator of the multiple award winning animation series, TURTLE TAIDO.
Adebimpe Adebambo a visual artist, animation producer, director, enthusiast and promoter, has also being named the first Artistic Director of this festival as a result of her invaluable contributions and work in the African Animation space.
Her debut animation short film Tejumade was nominated in the category of Best 2D animation at the 2nd edition of LIFANIMA and has been selected and nominated best animation categories in over 20 international festivals.
LIFANIMA has the objectives to promote the rapid development of the animation industry in Nigeria and across Africa; to improve the movie industry through increased inclusion of animation content; to provide a platform for the promotion of local animators and development of the quality of animation and to expose animators to the latest technologies in animation hardware and software.
The Animation specific film festival was founded by Muyiwa Kayode in 2017 to promote the Animation genre and support its practitioners in the continent. Over the years, it has seen a steady increase in submission of films across the categories of 2D, 3D animation, animation commercials and visual effects. The 2019 edition received over 400 films from more than 70 countries in the continent and Diaspora. 30 films made the final selection and were screened in the competitive and non- competitive categories.
The festival will feature Screening of Selected Works, Award Presentation, Networking and Entertainment, and will attract Animators; local and foreign, Film makers, Investors, Financial Institutions, Advertising agencies, Musical Video Producers, Media Practitioners, Digital Marketing professionals, Government agencies, Information Technology companies/manufacturers and the general public.
30 films made the final selection and were screened in the competitive and non- competitive categories.
For the 4th edition of the festival, filmmakers and content producers should submit their content through the festival’s Filmfreeway platform as the only means of submissions.
Submissions close on the 31st of March 2020.
Animation short films with a duration of 3 to 15 minutes, produced between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2019 by African filmmakers in the continent and in Diaspora and which haven’t been earlier submitted to the festival, are eligible for submission. Filmmakers are also enjoined to indicate the rating of their films whether they are G, PG, PG 13 or 18.