Triggerfish is a highly successful film company in South Africa that not only makes some of the best animated content, but they also work to uplift others.
Cape Town, South Africa – Established in 1996, Triggerfish Animation Studios is a Cape Town-based film and entertainment company.
The studio has produced two feature films: Adventures in Zambezia (2012), starring Jeremy Suarez, Abigail Breslin and Samuel L. Jackson, and Khumba (2013), starring Jake T. Austin, AnnaSophia Robb and Liam Neeson. The two movies are among the top five highest-grossing South African films of all time
The film company even cracked an Oscar nod for their work on the ‘Revolting Rhymes’ animated show for BBC One. The show is based on Roald Dahl’s famous book by the same name. The very same animated show earned a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award. We could go on and on about all the accolades that the company has earned but this story is about how they are giving back.
The company have started to award bursaries to deserving South African students. These film students have big dreams and the company is working to make them a reality. They have given out three bursaries to deserving students this year.
Sibusisu Ngubelanga from Khayelitsha and Zaid Neethling from Strandfontein are both beginning their first year at The Animation School thanks to the bursary. Dawood Salie from Mitchell’s Plein is the third recipient, will start his second year. His first year was also covered by the bursaries given out last year.
“Talent is universal; opportunity is not. We want to start changing that because we need diverse teams to do justice to our continent’s diverse stories.” – Stuart Forrest, Triggerfish CEO
South Africa’s film industry is booming not only with local productions but from international ones too. South Africa is a go-to destination for international film companies and with them here in South Africa, they create even more employment options. We wish the three recipients the best of luck with their studies.
These bursaries are just one of a number of recent Triggerfish initiatives aimed at growing and diversifying the animation industry in Africa, from the pan-African Story Lab, which was supported by The Walt Disney Company and The Department of Trade and Industry, to Triggerfish Academy, an online introduction to animation in partnership with The Goethe-Institut and The German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation.
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