The company has made the country proud at a time that Youth Month is being commemorated by clinching the global TV series and specials MIFA Pitches at the festival that was created in 1960. The MIFA Pitches showcase the best in original animation projects in their first phase of development.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, congratulated the company on their win at the recently concluded festival.

“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 takes place in sectors that are regarded as specialised.

"This success builds on that achieved by fellow South African company Triggerfish Animation Studios, which over the last two years has won the top prize for TV production at Annecy, and is in competition for the same prize this year with their work on the BBC1 Christmas special, Highway Rat,” said Minister Davies.

Diprente 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 receive attention from companies such as Disney further validates the international appeal of the content that the company and the country is creating,” said Mogojane.

Annecy International Animation Film Festival (Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy, abbreviated as AIAFF) takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy. It became an annual event in 1998. This year’s festival ran from 11 to 16 June.

Minister Davies said the dti, through its Sector Specific Assistance Programme, funded 20 animation companies to participate in the 2018 Animation Film Festival, which is a global animation industry’s leading showcase for co-producing, purchasing, selling, financing and distributing animation content

– Source: SAnews.gov.za