There’s never been a better time to green-light an animated project in South Africa than right now.
One US dollar buys you more than 16 South African rand (16.8 at time of writing). Do I need to say that again?
South African animation talent has been swelling over the last few years with high quality, long-form projects being produced at several of Cape Town’s top animation studios including Sunrise.
In addition, Cape Town is the kind of place that appeals to the globe-trotting, eclectic nature of nomadic, freelance, creative talent. I’ve had many friends and colleagues visit or express the desire to visit Cape Town on an extended work basis.
The Writers Guild of South Africa has come of age and is now a capable and well-equipped apparatus serving and cultivating local writers and authors, including animation writers.(See http://writersguildsa.org/ for more.)
Tourism took a hit over the festive season due to onerous visa requirements but January will see an easing of these requirements so we’re expecting a late influx of tourists wishing to catch the second half of summer. This will make it easier to facilitate foreign lead artists and supervisors.
http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/25/SA-to-relax-visa-rules-after-tourism-industry-suffers
Technology and data are improving and South Africa enjoys first world bandwidth speeds. This is good news for animation studios.
http://www.africabandwidthmaps.com/
Cape Town is the gateway to the rest of Africa. The people and cultures are varied, exotic and friendly. The stories are rich and original.
All we need are adventurous partners, fearless film-makers and savvy financiers.
Bring your animation projects to South Africa.
I assure you, there are riches to be had.