Animation South Africa is holding its first ever Student Competition Viewing to take place on Saturday, 4 February at The Bioscope Independent cinema in Johannesburg. 

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is sponsoring the event and the 1st prize is a trip to the world's biggest animation festival in Annecy, France later this year. 

Other prizes include internships, online courses and book prizes which have been contributed by supportive industry players. The aim of the competition is to motivate local schools and in so doing raise the overall standard of animation locally. 

The competition is open to all students who are currently registered at a South African animation school. This includes universities, technical colleges and private tertiary institutions. Currently this excludes online courses such as Animation Mentor, but this will most likely be amended next year. 

According to Animation SA the competition aims to create an open dialogue between the South African animation industry and the animation educational institutions. Further it hopes to inform students about the local animation industry, their opportunities for employment, and the expectations of potential employers. 

In addition the competition was initiated to decrease the gap between the needs of the industry and the skills of graduates and to give exceptional students the motivation and tools to further their skills and careers. Other goals are to create an awareness of local animation overseas and to create public interest in the South African animation at home. 

The competition categories are: Short Film (this award will go to the judges' favorite animated short film and needs to be over 30 seconds in length and work as an isolated narrative - the prize is an all expenses paid trip to Annecy in France.); Character Animation (prize - one-year paid internship with Bugbox Animation in Johannesburg); Outstanding Technical Achievement (prize - a seat at Judd Simantov’s next workshop on rigging for animation, donated by Imaginari Animation); Production Design (prize - Gnomon workshop DVD set sponsored by the NFVF); Best Visual Execution (prize - online technical course sponsored by BFX); Audience Choice Award (book prize to the value of R1,000 donated by the NFVF); and Artistic Achievement (prize donated by Sariene Kersh).

At the moment, the awards ceremony is by invitation only, as the
Bioscope can only hold 90 people maximum. Once the organising
committee have heard back from all the sponsors, nominees, schools
and studios, they'll open it up to other Animation SA Members. People
who would like to come can email:

ASAStudentCompetition@gmail.com

Please include your name, and how they are involved in the animation
industry. The organisers will confirm
on an individual basis next week if there is space.