animationsa Turner Africa has partnered up with Animation SA, an organization that represents the animation industry in South Africa, to create the first ever Animation Lounge at the DISCOP Africa industry expo this week (November 2 – 4), at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As part of the Animation Lounge booth, Turner and Animation SA will be running an Animation Pitching competition, where African producers and storytellers can pitch children’s programming properties currently in development, to a panel of local and international industry experts, buyers and commissioning editors. The prize of $3,000, sponsored by Turner, will be split between the winner ($2,000) and runner up ($1,000).

All entrants will also have the opportunity to schedule a short feedback session with Turner, while all delegates will benefit from a sharing session and Q&A prior to the pitching competition.

“This partnership with Turner is indicative of the bargaining power of the collective and is validation for the efforts of all the volunteers at Animation South Africa over the years,” says Nick Wilson, chair of the export missions committee of Animation South Africa. “Our mandate is to grow the animation industry in South Africa and there is no better way to do that than in dialogue with one of the biggest players in global animation.”

In addition to its flagship kids’ channels Cartoon Network and Boomerang, Turner launched the kids’ channel Boing Africa at DISCOP 2015.

“It is a great opportunity for Turner Africa to sponsor the Animation SA booth and pitching competition,” says Pierre Branco, VP and GM of Southern Europe & Africa for Turner. “This is also a demonstration of how we are strengthening our presence across the continent and building our local production strategy to create content that is both relevant and engaging for our African audiences.”

DISCOP, one of the largest African content markets, will take place in Johannesburg from 2-4 November 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre. For more information, email export@animationsa.org.

Animation S.A.

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