Ridwan Shades Moshood’s Garbage Boy and Trash Can has been announced as the winner of the first-ever Cartoon Network Africa Creative Lab Competition at DISCOP Joburg 2018.
Moshood’s work, Garbage Boy and Trash Can follows the story of a little boy (Garbage Boy), a self-proclaimed superhero and his sidekick, Trash Can on a mission to rid the world of evil and fight for justice.
Garbage Boy and Trash Can was screened as part of a specially curated programme of African Animation at the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol in September this year by the Accra Animation Film Festival. Additionally, the project was pitched at the Lagos Comic Con and was selected as one of two projects that will present at Annecy International Animation Festival MIFA Pitches Animation du Monde in 2019.
“Ridwaan’s style is a perfect fit for the channel and shows fantastic graphism that makes the show instantly lovable, unique and full of energy,” said Ariane Suveg, Programming Director and Head of Programming and Acquisition, Turner Kids Africa.
In addition to Ridwan’s idea, 2 more projects were chosen as runner-ups. These are:
Intergalactic Ice Cream (South Africa)
Intergalactic Ice Cream by Andrew John Phillips, is about a 13-year old Makhaya, whose after-school job as a delivery boy for a mysterious ice cream parlour sends him into the crazies, danger-filled and dairy-fueled adventures this side of the Milky Way. Intergalactic Ice Cream resonated with the panel because of its Cartoon Network typical kind of humour based on crazy situations, worlds and characters.
Majitu (Kenya)
Majitu by Mark Kinuthia, is about a duo, Jasiri and Bokari on their quest to rid the world of evil and stop an evil witch from opening the gates between earth and the phantom’s universe. Kinuthia, who describes himself as a “complete artist” impressed with a good mix of fun dialogues, action and mystery.
All three winning projects will get the chance to produce pilots with Cartoon Network Africa which will premiere the shorts on Cartoon Network Africa and its digital platforms next year.
More than 250 projects were submitted for the competition since it launched in June 2018. The Creative Lab Competition is an initiative designed to discover and develop African creators to produce local short-form content for Cartoon Network.
We were pleasantly surprised by the wealth of animation talent on the continent and the selection panel had a tough task; the editorial guidelines for the channel were very specific, and yet we received many applications.
Ariane Suveg
“We are thrilled that the Creative Lab winner and runner-ups reflect the vibrant nature of the continent and look forward to collaborating with each of them. We’re excited to have seen strong African inspiration and captivating proposals all around, with strong human stakes in characters and stories that go straight to the heart,” concludes Suveg.
We first came across Moshood’s work on social media when he participated in the #WeAreNigerianCreatives trend started on Twitter. We at Squid Mag are stoked about the winners and can’t wait to see their projects fully developed.
Moshood is a Nigerian animator, illustrator, game developer and write. Follow him on Twitter and Artstation.
What do you think?
Show comments / Leave a comment