By Mamelodi Marakalala
“I have loved drawing since a young age and it was a natural progression, for me, to want to eventually see my drawings move. Not just for them to move but also for me to breathe life into them and tell stories. When I was a child, we did not have much representation of African characters in animation and there is still a lack of that today. I wish to change that by telling my own stories so that I can see the representation that I wished for as a child,” says Lola Alma Aikins – a Sierra Leone-born South African film director, 2D animator, and visual development artist.
Lola Alma Aikins began her career in 2015 at LISAA (L’Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués), a leading multidisciplinary school of applied arts in France. She completed her internships at the Minds Eye Creative animation studio in 2018 and Tshimologong Precinct in 2019. She gained experience as an animator at MAAN Creative, a film director at the British Council, and a visual development artist at BUTHANO PICTURES. Presently, Aikins works on background design, animation training at Tshimologong, and her debut animated film, NALEDI.
NALEDI, which is Sesotho, Setwana and Sepedi for “star”, is a short animated film about a star athlete who must overcome a challenge. Aikins says, “NALEDI is a film about grief and the resilience needed to come back from it and pick oneself up. The story is inspired by the first major loss I experienced when my grandfather passed away as well as the loss of my sports career when I suffered a career-ending injury before I could even compete at a national level, which is something I wanted.”
The NALEDI teaser trailer has gone on to be screened at various festivals and won multiple awards. “We’ve had an amazing reception to the film. We won the 2023 Faku’gesi Award for Best Animation. We won the 2023 Cape Town International Animation Festival [CTIAF] Road To Annecy and the 2023 AVIJOZI Festival pitch contests. The teaser trailer debuted at Comic Con Africa to an amazing reception. Everyone in the industry is rooting for the project to be made,” Aikins notes. Additionally, in that same year, Aikins was selected as one of The Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans, in the Film and Media category.
In this trailer, we see the protagonist Naledi Lebitsa on the race track alongside her competitors in the final race of the African Athletic Championships taking place in Johannesburg. The crowd cheers for their national athletes as the commentator highlights that Naledi is the defending champion for South Africa and remarks on her anticipated performance, noting that she lost her father the previous month. Naledi takes a deep breath at the “on your marks” and channels her inner warrior. When the starter pistol goes off, the screen fades to black, followed by a scene in a hospital room, which leads to a dream sequence wherein the stadium is in an apocalyptic state that sees Naledi running for her life. As viewers, we are left wondering what is going on and what happens next.
“As of now, we have completed a one-minute teaser trailer, which is screening at CTIAF, and we have completed the script and started to storyboard. We are currently in the process of raising funds for the film,” says Aikins. Aikins and her team are currently trying to raise a million rands so they can access funding from The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to make this film. For context, the NFVF will release their funds once they have dedicated themselves to raising a certain percentage of the film’s budget. Their first and foremost goal is to obtain R200,000 to complete the film’s animatic, a moving storyboard that visualises the entire film. Once this step is complete, more animation filmmaking processes will follow that require additional financial support. Aikins and the NALEDI team aim to raise these through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.
Obtaining the financial means and resources to complete a project is one of the biggest challenges that many creative professionals and cultural entrepreneurs face in South Africa. As Aikins explains, “I think now is an exciting time to be an animator, not just in South Africa but also the whole of Africa. The world is starting to recognise that we have unique stories to tell. We have always been storytellers. Many great projects are coming out of this country and the continent. The biggest issue, however, has been the lack of finances, resources, and animation professionals.”
Aikins’ biggest concern for her industry is that more money is needed for talented people to undergo and complete high-quality projects that the creators can be proud of and that the public and critics can respect. Another concern is that although there are many talented creators, there is still a shortage of specialised people within the diverse roles that should be carried out in the animation industry, which can result in a single individual handling multiple roles.
However, as with many creative and cultural fields, despite these challenges and concerns, there is much to aspire for and work towards. The NALEDI trailer is screening at the Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF), which takes place from 27 to 28 April, as part of the 2024 programme. “I really love CTIAF, as it’s the biggest animation festival in South Africa. I love connecting with the local industry. It is also not the first time I have been featured because I have participated in the pitching contest twice. Both times for NALEDI. The reception last year was particularly great. This year, I’m excited for the trailer to screen on the Comic Con main stage to a wider audience. I would like the finished film to one day screen at Annecy,” says Aikins. The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is a global annual celebration of animated motion pictures. It is where the biggest names in the animation industry come together to acknowledge and engage with creative and diverse animation styles and techniques.
The crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter aimed at seeing Naledi to completion and taking the film to Annecy will be live on 23 April 2024. Find out more and how you can contribute at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aosv/naledi-animated-short-film/
