(APCOM)
Pierre Sauvalle: Africa has to express its imagination.
Dakar- The Pictoon studio trains young draughtsmen and cartoonists and is currently one of the most important producers of cartoons in Western Africa. Pictoon aims to create "a cartoon industry in Africa" capable of competing with Europe, states Pierre Sauvalle, the founder of the studio.
Pictoon is an industrial studio, which meets the international standards set by the main television broadcasters. About 100 technicians work freelance for the company, while about 10 young people work full time on the drawing and animation. "Of the 10 people who work full time for Pictoon, seven are versatile. This means that can work as cartoonists, assistants or editors,"explained Olivier Ndecky, 32, who has worked with the studio for 10 years.
Since its creation 11 years ago, the studio has trained hundreds of young people in animation techniques and they have often moved on to work in advertising or institutional films.
The studio's major work is Kabongo, a 13-part series about the adventures of the African storyteller Kabongo and his companion, the monkey Golo. The two travel the world looking for a pupil to teach the art of storytelling. But, Ndecky's favourite work is "Diabou Ndaw", a cartoon series recently made by Pictoon with the Senegalese filmmaker Makéna Diop, who lives in France. "The film is about an African heroin, Diabou Ndaw. Makéna Diop wrote the script and we did the storyboard," said Ndecky. The first episode was presented this year at the Cannes film festival.
Africa has many stories to tell but lacks the financial resources to develop its cartoon industry. For example, the film "Kirikou and the Sorceress" directed by Frenchman Michel Ocelot was the most successful cartoon about Africa but was produced in Europe.
The film's success has aroused Pictoon's desire to export its products to Europe. "Africa is the only continent that has not yet expressed its imagination. But there is demand for it", according to Sauvalle. He added that there are many African authors who cannot express themselves for lack of financial resources.