International Emmy Award Win for South African Directors Continues Positive Momentum for African Animation

“Growing up, you always dream of winning one of these awards, but it seems impossible,” Hamman says. “You don’t imagine you can reach that level as a South African, so it feels great to win after all the hard work. We’re very proud of the team.”

Hamman and Scrimgeour couldn’t attend the ceremony due to their busy schedules. The duo live and work from Woodstock, Cape Town, where they remotely directed Tabby McTat — mainly due to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. They worked with a crew of over 80 people, primarily based in the U.K.

Some of the crew members are South Africans, including long-time collaborator and art director Shannan Taylor, lighting lead Armand Filmalter, lighting and compositing artist Dayaan Abarder, animators Depesh Cara, Dominic Seeber and Stuart Coutts, and several others.

“We do want to compete on an international level,” Hamman said inan interview on Cape Town radio station Smile 90.4FM earlier today. “That also means [the South African] industry needs to have that level of competition. It’s amazing that we can compete, and animators are in demand overseas from South Africa.”

Tabby McTat is the second time Hamman and Scrimgeour worked as directors for a BBC animated Christmas Special after their work on 2021’sSuperworm. Adapted from the bestselling Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture book, Tabby McTat follows the warm friendship between the titular, musical cat (Sope Dirisu) and talented busker, Fred (Rob Brydon), as they reunite after being separated on the streets of London.

Tabby McTat’s International Emmy win marks the second straight year a film directed by South African filmmakers snagged Best Kids Animation. Last year, Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler won for directingThe Smeds and The Smoos, an adaptation of a picture book also by Donaldson and Scheffler.

In a broader context, this win also continues the positive momentum for animation helmed by Africans on a global stage. Earlier this year, the final episode of the Pan-African anthology series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, whichpremiered on Disney+, wonBest Limited Series at the Annie Awards.

In late February,Iwaju premiered on Disney+. The futuristic animation series, set in Lagos, Nigeria, wasproduced by Kugali Studios in partnership with Disney Animation, a first-of-its-kind collaboration. Next year,Iyanu will premiere on Showmax, Cartoon Network and Max. The animated superhero series, directed by Roye Okupe,draws heavily from Yoruba mythology.