Animation Festival in Zimbabwe Reflects Growing Industry

HARARE, ZIMBABWE – At 23, Tafadzwa Tarumbwa, has already made a name for himself in Zimbabwe’s animation industry.

His eyes shine with passion, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He says his day consists of three activities: eating, sleeping and animating. Like most of his peers in the Zimbabwean animation industry, he started off with no formal training, armed with only a burning desire to create animation.

“My early days in animation saw me forcing the software to bend to my will,” he says.

Tarumbwa made his first animation without any training, guidance or assistance.

“I would start with the end product in mind, and then I would work backwards, using the software to create what I saw in my mind’s eye,” the gentle digital artist says. “Envisioning the end is when you can begin.”

After a couple of years of creating for himself, Tarumbwa wanted to share his animations with others. He had made a miniseries animation called “Salad Chick” and another one called “Stunt Goat.” He wanted people to see them so he submitted them to the Zimbabwe International Film Festival in 2009.

He didn’t expect much success, but he won Best Animation of the Year, as well as Most Promising Film Director. He suddenly found himself catapulted into the industry of animation.

Fast-forward to 2011, and Tarumbwa has two National Arts Merit Award nominations under his belt for Best Musical Video and Best Television Series. He has also recently won an international award for his animation “The God Feather,” a humorous clip of a criminally minded feather that literately squeezes a grapefruit for everything it has.

Like many other Zimbabwean animators, Tarumbwa is self-taught and continues to make animation for the sake of the art rather than for a profit. To continue to strengthen animation in Zimbabwe, he gathered with other passionate animators this past weekend at the Zimbabwe Festival of African Inspired Animation, ZIMFAIA.

Experienced and aspiring animators convened at the festival, which took place from Dec. 9 to 11 in Harare, the capital. Animators say the industry has grown substantially in recent years. They also say there are abundant opportunities in the future for animation to serve the entertainment, education and advertising sectors. Adding to this future are young animators who have joined the industry before their teenage years. Animators also say that a unique emphasis on collaboration and new software expand the potential of animation in Zimbabwe. But they say that creating an animation studio and increasing funding are key to realizing this potential.

Joint Afrikan Animation Group, JAAG, an organization working to develop a viable animation and special effects industry in Zimbabwe and Africa, organized the festival. This year, the festival also received support from Alliance Française de Harare, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the study and use of the French language as well as the appreciation of culture. Charles Houdart, director of Alliance Française, attributed this support to JAAG’s energy and passion.

“When JAAG held the first ZIMFAIA, it was without any outside support,” Houdart said at a recently held press conference. “The outcome was so good, it spoke of an amazing potential that Zimbabwean animation has. So this year, Alliance Française decided to financially support ZIMFAIA at the second festival.” 

The three-day festival featured screenings, workshops and conferences. Entrance to all the events was free.

The event drew experienced animators, such as Simbirirai Solomon Maramba, the festival director, and Nqobizitha Mlilo, head of Enqore Media Group. It also attracted up-and-coming animators, such as Eugene Ramirez Mapondera of Sigma Digital Studio and novice Mhle Nzima.

“What I love about animation is the storytelling,” Maramba, 35, says. “It puts the imagination into a visual space and brings the characters alive. What I also love about animation is seeing children’s reactions because, with their imagination, they really live the story.”

There was also a promising attendance of aspiring animators – some as young as 12 years old. Experienced animators have welcomed these youngsters into JAAG by mentoring, teaching and inspiring them.

Mapondera, 24, says the festival provides an ideal opportunity to meet fellow animators.

“I am a graphics designer, and I do architectural visualization for a living, but I like creating and conceptualizing animated characters,” he says. “I have been looking for people to help me explore that side of things, so it has been great meeting like-minded people from JAAG and ZIMFAIA.”

The animators at the festival say that the Zimbabwean animation industry has been growing.

“The animation industry is full of potential,” Maramba says. “The fact that many of the animators have taught themselves proves that it is driven by passion, and that is a great foundation.”

More training opportunities are becoming available to build on this foundation of passion. Global Academy, a film school in Zimbabwe, has recently added courses in animation to its offerings.

As training opportunities expand, so do employment opportunities. Animation has generally been confined to the advertising sector, but many animators say that other industries in Zimbabwe are now recruiting animators. 

“We usually work on projects for the art of it,” Mapondera says. “There usually isn’t commissioned work apart from adverts, but it’s changing. I have seen 3-D adverts in shopping malls here, and I heard that an animator got an opportunity to create an animated lion for the Zimbabwean film, ‘Playing Warriors.’”

The industry is also growing in terms of quality and the number of animators involved.

“It’s been growing exponentially,” Mapondera says. “Each year, people are getting more inspired and coming together. The quality of work being produced is better. We are seeing great work from novices, like Mhle Nzima, and from experienced animators, like Tafadzwa Tarumbwa and Simbirirai Solomon Maramba. With more collaboration, there will be more work and longer and better films.”

Mlilo, 27, agrees.

“Animation is still in its infancy, but already there is great scope for it in film and video and advertising,” he says.

He says the industry also has the capacity to reach beyond entertainment.

“Animation is growing,” he says. “We are seeing different styles emerging. Animation is bridging cultures. It is not just for entertainment. It is expanding towards the spheres of education, architectural visualization and advertising.”

Looking to the future, Zimbabwean animators say the industry has great potential to serve many functions, from filling gaps left by other media to preserving local culture.

“There is a need to create a market in animation,” Maramba says. “There are many talented story writers and script writers in Zimbabwe who have no outlet, and animation can provide that.”

Mapondera agrees.

“There is also African science fiction, which I am looking forward to exploring,” Mapondera says. “Our animation industry can tackle ideas that the film industry can’t due to limited resources.”

Maramba says animation can enhance the theater sector as well. He is preparing a project for 2012 called “Son of Soil,” a series of animated stories that will serve as a dream sequence in a play.

“With animation, the possibilities are endless,” Tarumbwa says. “The beauty of it is that you can do things and take advantages of things that you wouldn’t be able to do in film. There are no restrictions. If someone wants to look like they are flying in a helicopter, you can create a helicopter. There is no need for the extra expense of renting a helicopter.”

He says animation is more economically viable.

“Animation is cost-effect[ive],” Tarumbwa says. “Therefore, it can grow at a great rate. All you would need is recorded voices, and the rest can be digitally created.”

Mapondera says animation can delve into unexplored themes, such as African science fiction. He says he hopes to be a part of the creation of a uniquely Zimbabwean style of animation.

“As a concept artist, I am hoping there will be a Zimbabwean aesthetics for animation, and my current work is contributing towards that image,” Mapondera says.

He says there are also abundant opportunities for collaboration.

“In terms of collaboration, I can see a big future ahead,” he says.

He says that a well-known writer who has written plays for the Harare International Festival of the Arts got in touch with him recently to work on a project together.

“He has a story and wanted me to design a comic book, and we hope to animate it in the future,” he says.

Maramba says animation can create employment as well as preserve Zimbabwean culture. For hundreds of years, the older generations in Zimbabwe have passed the cultural history, folklore and mythology of Zimbabwe down to the youth. This storytelling form, called oral tradition, has lost fervor since the advent of television.

“I see animation as a way of telling the stories of Africa and as a tool for uniting Africa with the world,” Maramba says. “Beyond exporting culture and sharing ideas, animation can also be used to preserve oral tradition – a history that may be lost if we don’t act soon.”

Maramba says he hopes that animation will provide a platform for the youth to learn.

“I would like to do projects with artists involved and learning at the same time,” Maramba says.

Experienced Zimbabwean animators say they are inspired by how animation has captured the hearts of the youth, such as JAAG members Tallib Hassen and Thulani Nzonzo.

“Our youngster members are not even teenagers yet, but they have learnt so much,” Mlilo says. “Thulani, who is only 12 years old, is lucky that his mother is supporting his dream of becoming an animator. If us older animators had that kind of support from such a young age, we would have been awesome by now.”

Tallib, 11, and Thulani, 12, smile shyly. But they grow confident when they begin to speak about animation.

“Everything I see around me inspires me to do animation,” Thulani says. “I like animation the best because I think it allows you to be more creative. I have been doing animation since I was 8 years old. I am lucky that my mother is very supportive of my dream to be an animator when I grow up.”

He and Tallib took part in a children’s workshop at the animation festival. The workshop encouraged children to draw, create and use animation to help them realize their dreams and enable them to visualize themselves as adults in whatever careers they aspire to.

Thulani and Tallib say that animation is not yet taught in most private or public primary and secondary schools. Seeking to fill that void, Global Academy had a tent at the festival where people could enroll in next year’s courses.

Animators say that new animation software and the collaborative spirit of the Zimbabwean animation community also provide opportunities for growth. Mlilo and Mapondera held a workshop at the festival to teach the audience how to navigate the software Zbrush, a digital sculpting and painting program.

“New software these days allows animation to be created in less time and with more ease,” Mlilo says. “Technically, the limitations are not what they used to be.”

Mapondera says he is excited about how open the animation industry is and how this freeness will nourish the industry’s environment.

“One thing I have noticed about the animation community in Harare is that it is so open,” Mapondera says. “Anyone can approach us.”

He says this makes the industry unique.

“A lot of the other industries tend to be aggressively closed communities,” he says. “That is why I think animation is going to go far because we are so open.”

He says collaboration leads to growth.

“I have known some animators for months online, but we have only met in person recently,” he says. “And yet we are already sharing information and doing workshops together. This openness is our best trait because if we start to be competitive in this early stage, we will just tear each other apart and then we won’t grow as an industry. The horizon is looking great because we are all working together and filling in each other’s gaps.”

Tarumbwa says he believes not only in animators supporting each other but also in each animator exploring as much ground as possible.

“The more headway an animator makes, the more it breaks barriers for other animators,” he says. “JAAG is great because they provide the acceptance and guidance young animators need.”

Tarumbwa says this sense of community is one reason he loves this industry.

“I love the animation industry,” Tarumbwa says. “Everyone in it is so open when it comes to sharing ideas and techniques. We all help to inspire each other.”

Men have dominated the animation industry so far, but some women are starting to get involved. Mlilo’s fiancee, Aura Kawanzaruwa, was one woman at the festival.

There are also other challenges to growth in the animation industry, ranging from a lack of creative space for animators to showcase their projects to an underdeveloped market. Many also worry about how to dedicate more time to projects amidst financial constraints.

Tarumbwa is currently studying graphics and photography in South Africa as well as working. In between school and work, he does as many animation projects as possible. He says it is sometimes a challenge getting companies to see the economic viability of animation as a form of advertising, instead of just as a means of developing concepts for filmed ads.

“Companies will commission you to animate a storyline for their advert,” Tarumbwa says. “They love it, but then they decide to film it. That is frustrating.”

Mapondera believes that animators in time can create their own projects and further develop the market. But he says an animation studio is key to developing a more cohesive industry.

“It’s up to us,” Mapondera says. “Personally, I think Zimbabwe needs to develop their own studio, a studio that worries about the funding and human resources. We need a body that does the administration and marketing, so that we can concentrate on the creative process. A body like that would allow us to make a film without worrying about day-to-day living. We need official releases with official screenings because, without that, we are going to be struggling for a while.”

Mapondera says that the creation of such a studio would make it more lucrative for talented animators in the diaspora to return to Zimbabwe.

“So many talented animators are leaving for South Africa and Australia,” he says. “There is a brain drain in this country. A studio here offering competitive salaries will bring the talent back. Obviously, I am not expecting Pixar or [Warner] Brothers to come to Zimbabwe, but I am hoping Zimbabwe will be able create their own.”

Animators are already working together and looking forward to next year’s festival. ZIMFAIA has begun an Open Movie Project, which unites a team of directors, writers, producers, cultural organizations, broadcasters and animators in order to produce an animated film. The film will be launched at a screening at next year’s festival.