Past Event

Afrofutures Animation in Western Sydney

July 20, 2024 10:00 am — Tickets FREE
8 Victoria Rd Parramatta

Afrofutures Animation Screening and Q&A

Africa Film Fest Australia presents a program of short animation films, ‘Self’ (2024) ‘Afro Algorithms’ (2022), and ‘Robo Ramen’ (2022), exploring Afrofutures genres produced by African filmmakers. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session facilitated by ACE Screen Cultures Associate Producer Chidiebube Uba. Joining Uba for this discussion is Nigerian-Australian animator and games art director Edi Udo, Jamaican-Australian a compositing, lighting + video artist Rubeena King and the distinguished Searit Huluf.

Event Details

WHERE: Arts & Cultural Exchange, 8 Victoria Rd, Parramatta

WHAT: Screenings and Q&A

WHEN: Saturday 20 July 2024, 10 am to 12 pm

Free Screening program, but bookings are essential. Click the link below to secure your spot!

Africa Film Fest Australia is a project of Arts & Cultural Exchange and a dedicated team of Afro Australian curators, supported by Riverside Theatres, Screen NSW, City of Parramatta, Multicultural NSW, WeirAnderson Films, Animal Logic, and UTS Animal Logic Academy.

Reserve Your Spot Here!

About the Screening Program

 

Celebrating Ethiopian Identity Through Stop-Motion Animation

 

‘Self’ is a story about a wooden puppet who is desperate to be more like the shiny metallic figures around her. Directed by Searit Huluf and produced by Eric Rosales, the film explores themes of identity, belonging, and the potentially harmful effects of our desire to be accepted by those around us.
The film is part of Pixar’s SparkShorts program, which is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows. ‘Self’ is currently screening on Disney+.
Filmmaker Biography – Searit Huluf
Searit Huluf is an Ethiopian-American writer/director working in Production Management at Pixar Animation Studios, who will present the making of her stop-motion animated short ‘Self’, currently screening on Disney+.
Huluf, who is of Ethiopian descent, was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and studied screenwriting and animation at UCLA’s Theater, Film and Television school. After graduating, Huluf moved to the Bay Area and began working in Production Management at Pixar Animation Studios, where she worked on films like Incredibles 2 and Turning Red. Huluf has also directed numerous short narrative and documentary films, such as buna, GAMERS, Exploring Blackness, and 19th Amendment Doc
Watch trailer HERE.

 

Award-Winning Short Film ‘Afro Algorithms’ Makes History as the First Sci-Fi Short Film on the Moon

 

This 3D animated short film in the Afro-Futurist genre explores topics of AI and bias. In a distant future, an artificial intelligence named Aero is inaugurated as the world’s first AI leader. However, she soon finds that important worldviews are missing from her databank, including the stories of the historically marginalized and oppressed. A slate of well-known Black actors lend their voices to the film, including Robin Quivers, Ava Raiin, and Hoji Fortuna. ‘Afro Algorithms’ recently made history by being sent to space on a NASA Moon Mission in February 2024.
Filmmaker Biography – Anatola Araba:
Anatola is an artist, futurist, and award-winning filmmaker. She’s also the founder of Reimagine Story Lab, an innovation hub pushing the boundaries of storytelling by fusing art and technology.
She explores our most pressing issues, from artificial intelligence bias to climate change, through sci-fi storytelling, immersive experiences, and multi-media journalism. Her film, Afro Algorithms, uses science fiction as a vehicle to uncover important issues about race, technology, and where humanity is driving the future of our planet.
Anatola has given talks at the United Nations and leading Universities. Her art has been exhibited in the MoMA in NYC, her films have been shown at Lincoln Center, and her writing published in ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar. Anatola’s passion is to inform, inspire, and reimagine the world as it could be.
Trailer: Afro Algorithms

 

Creating A 3d Animation In Unreal Engine

 

Set in a futuristic neo-Venice, ‘Robo Ramen’ tells the story of a dishwashing robot who dreams of becoming a top chef. But only when the owner has an unexpected accident, does he get the chance to step up to the plate.
Rubeena King is a compositing, lighting + video artist from Sydney, Australia, who was part of the animation team who produced ‘Robo Ramen’.
Filmmaker Biography – Rubeena King
Beginning her career as a freelance Production Assistant and Film Researcher at Scoundrel, Rubeena gained invaluable experience working on a variety of high-end advertisements.
After pursuing her interest in 2D animation, she was accepted into the Master of Animation and Visualisation at the UTS Animal Logic Academy. Rubeena aspires to hone her craft in compositing across the film + immersive media space. She was the 2022 Animal Logic Scholarship recipient.
Rubeena is passionate about the representation of diverse experiences in this industry and has a particular interest in Afrofuturism and Afro-Caribbean mythology.

 

Q&A Host and Workshop Facilitator – Edi Udo

 

Edi Udo is a multi-disciplined visual artist specialising in illustration, graphic design and animation. With over ten years of experience working freelance and as well in-house, Edi has worked for clients big and small; from self-published authors to start-up tech companies to global gaming companies. For the past 5+ years he has been in the gaming industry creating artwork and animations for clients in the tech and VR world, online card game companies, as well as some of the largest casino slot companies in Australia. He designs and draws characters and background art, logos, user interface graphics, as well as the animations to accompany them.

 

Photos: (top row, L to R) Searit Huluf, Edi Udo, Rubeena King (bottom row, L to R) Anatola Araba, still ‘Self’, still ‘Afro Algorithms’

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