African animators older than 18 have until the end of August 2018 to submit a creative short comedy project that is between one and three minutes long.
The project needs to fit in with Cartoon Network's values of random, irreverent, smart and contemporary humour, with editorial guidelines that available on www.CartoonNetworkAfrica/com.CreativeLab and must be aimed at 6 to 12 year old with the core audience being boys between 7 and 10, and be in English or non-dialogue.
The Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab is a first-ever Cartoon Network creative venture run in Africa, designed to bring innovative, local short-form content to the Cartoon Network's TV channel as well as its digital platforms.
Cartoon Network Africa says with the move it is taking a bold step in addressing the gap in locally relevant content which offers a viewing experience that resonates with its African audience.
The plan is to encourage Africa's creators, writers, graphic artists, animation students and anyone who loves kids' content to explore their creative, animation and production talents.
"As sponsors of the DISCOP 2016 Animation Pitching Programme, we were exposed to some really inspiring local animation projects," says Ariane Suveg, head of programming and acquisition at Turner Kids Africa.
"We were so impressed by the Cape Town-based Punch Monkey Studio's amazing creative energy in the winning entry, Cloud Life, that the project has been travelling through the Turner group and is now in a development process with the Turner Asia Pacific production team."
"This just reinforces our need to invest in local content and our commitment to further mentoring talent in the African animation industry," says Ariane Suveg.
The Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab will shortlist 10 projects in September from the entries received, and the local creators will get the opportunity to pitch their work to Cartoon Network Africa's content programming team.
The winner and 2 runners-up announced at the end of the year will be given the opportunity to get their project produced as a pilot with Cartoon Network Africa, that will then premiere on Cartoon Network Africa and its digital platforms in 2019.
"We are honoured to be supporting local African animation talent through the Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab," says Ariane Suveg. "We look forward to seeing the entries and hope to see the winners flourish in their career as content creators, following the footsteps of some of Cartoon Network's greatest talents."
