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Six animators will be representing T&T at the 2019 Kidscreen Animation Summit, regarded as the children entertainment industry’s most important annual event, in Miami this month. They will form part of a delegation being led by Animae Caribe, with assistance from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Export TT and Film TT.

The delegation will be composed of: delegation lead Camille Selvon-Abrahams; Jessica Yawching, who will be presenting her Magnificent Maggie Animated Project; Jason Lindsay with DIY Zoe; Jeunanne Alkins with the Bim and Bam Animated series; Michael Richards with Birds of a Feather; Mathew Hudson with Cairi; Andy Berahazar of Coded Arts Gaming Studio; and, Animae Caribe Business Development Director, Roxanne Colthrust.
Animae Caribe founder Selvon-Abrahams said this mission is the result of 17 years of work in building the animation sector in T&T, and more recently the decision to bring stakeholders together in an Animated Boot Camp to create content. “We threw creatives into a room: writers, animators, storytellers, directors and they came up with the Great 8 Animae Caribe Projects. Not all the products that are going came from those, but from other content creators.”
She said that there are several areas which will be marketed while at the Summit. “The three areas are: intellectual property (IP) which means we can show the world that we have Trinidadian content with a focus on culture, music, the arts, we are taking our content to the world; our education system, as one of the representatives is a UTT animation student; and, the possibility of outsourcing, which is something that needs a lot more work to build an industry.”
Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon commended the Animae Caribe team for organising the trip to the Summit. She said, “The participating creatives will have the prospect of featuring their animation projects and presenting their work to international animation executives seeking sales and distribution options. They will also be well positioned to learn first-hand about current market needs and challenges and adapt their business models to suit. T&T will also have an opportunity to be branded as an ideal destination for the outsourcing of animation services.”
The Minister said “According to online industry database research and markets, the global animation industry is expected to grow from US $259 billion in 2018 to US $270 billion in 2020. Considering the size of the global market, T&T will take the necessary steps to successfully capture market share in keeping with the goals articulated under Theme Four of the National Development Strategy, Vision 2030, which speaks to building globally competitive businesses. In order to secure T&T’s place as a leading hub for outsourced animation work, Government is developing technically sound and highly skilled labour. The UTT diploma programme in Digital Media and Animation studies and a Bachelor of Fine Arts programme in Digital Media Arts, with a specialisation in Animation, produces the annual human resources required to grow local animation. The Animae Caribe Animation and Digital Media Festival, founded by Selvon-Abrahams, have contributed significantly to the growth of the local animation industry by providing a platform for sharing knowledge and introducing new technologies to the local industry.”
Minister Gopee-Scoon said, “Some things that make T&T attractive to entities such as EA Games, DreamWorks, Walt Disney, IMAX and Sony who are aggressively looking for locations to outsource animation services are: having English as our first language, our time-zone proximity to North America, which makes it easier to conduct business, our strategic location between Europe and North America, and our Westernised approach to storytelling, which is relatable to North American viewers and of course our education system.”
Selvon-Abrahams said the trip is part of the first phase of development of the animation industry. “Phase II is developmental, where, from the feedback we get from Kidscreen, we develop. We really don’t know what to expect from Miami but the idea is, this is an experimental phase where we’re testing out the products. Phase III is commercialization and that is what we’re hoping for.”