#54: MIFA Workshop
My friend shared this post on Instagram about a workshop called MIFA, and I was really intrigued.
Basically, the French embassy in Nigeria and the international animation festival, Annecy teamed up to choose six projects for a three-day workshop, and the goal was to gather experts who really knew their stuff when it came to animation in Nigeria.
If chosen, we would get to go to France and work with experts who would help us develop our projects.
Last year, I produced the pilot episode for my web series “E Dey Happen” with the studio so I was excited to pitch the series to the MIFA team and maybe even get some funding for the full season.
We had to answer a bunch of questions on the application, like why we chose animation, details about our project pitch, what skills we already had, what skills we wanted to learn, and our thoughts on a recent impactful film. With some help, I created a comprehensive document and submitted it to the MIFA team.
I made it to the interview stage, but there was a bit of a hiccup. The MIFA team wanted to meet candidates at the Mike Adenuga Center in Lagos, but I couldn’t make it because of obligations in Abuja. I was worried this would hurt our chances, so I reached out to the MIFA team and asked if there were any other options. They were really cool about it and arranged a Zoom interview instead.
During the interview, I worked with Ashford Etela, who’s a lead animator on the web series Dem Ratz. We shared our projects and exchanged feedback to prepare for the call. Ashford is a total pro and has all kinds of industry connections, but I felt like we were both in the same boat when it came to distribution and pitching to investors.
When the final verdict came in, I was bummed to find out that our project didn’t quite fit with this year’s theme, but the panelists did encourage me to reapply next year. It was definitely a learning experience, and I’m taking their feedback to heart. I’m determined to keep working on my project and use their advice to be even better prepared for next year’s opportunity.
Overall, I realized I need to work on other skills like voice acting, create content that has more international appeal, and work on presenting EDH better. I’m excited about the future and grateful for this opportunity!
