Dear Caribbean Diaspora: We Have Stories to Tell

A well respected and really good friend of mine in the animation industry once said to me ''Camille... Caribbean animated content will not work, there is just no place for it," and though I shook my head in agreement, the rebellious little voice in my head shouted back at him in silence but loudly "You are WRONG!"

As a child growing up I craved for Saturday morning animated content.  It was a time when children television was clearly defined, an absolute joy to consume and it kept me enthralled for hours as the world passed by. It is only as I became a mother that I began to see the gaps, the lack and the invisibility of 'the other' in children's television. What really stirred me to do something about it was the day that my seven year old daughter sobbed as I threw away her Hannah Montana blonde wig. Though this tugged at my heartstrings I stood firm by my decision, not because it was a blonde wig (it could have been purple, green or orange) but simply because I needed her to appreciate her own hair and love her own image before glorifying other ideals of beauty. Something my own mother instilled in her girls.

So though my ‘professional’ friend was right in one way, he was wrong in another. The giants, Cartoon Network and Disney have little time or room for Caribbean content. This is so because we have not made our voices heard over the noise of other consumer needs. The Caribbean Diaspora is made up of hundreds of millions of eyes. We are a lucrative but untapped audience, and this converts into massive buying power. Though there are successes like Disney's 'Doc McStuffin' that cleverly taps into a diverse audience, it is just too few and far between. Plus we may need to consider creating our own path, as traditional broadcasting methodologies are currently being turned on its head.

Over the past fifteen years of Animae Caribe Festival we have been encouraging artists, animators, writers to create their own content. The message is consistent “We need to become creators and not just consumers”. Young dynamic entrepreneurs like Trinidadian Jeunanne Atkins creator of 'Bim and Bam' and Alison Latchman creator of 'Magnus the Mongoose' from Jamaica and a few others have worked incessantly over the years to develop their stories. We now think it’s time.

Can you be part of this evolution? We are creating a platform for crowd funding (this will be announced closer to the festival) match funding and an angel investment pitch for six animated series ready for production. With mentoring from members of the Diaspora in the global animation industry this is a unique but innovative approach to creating diverse content. My friend is absolutely right, there is no place for difference. However we can create that place by supporting, liking, sharing these projects which will build a following that will show the world that we WANT to see and hear ourselves. The funny thing is that if the world would just allow themselves to hear ‘the other’ they would see that it doesn’t hurt.

TAKE ACTION.... go like our page facebook.com/ac16animatedprojects/ Pretty please

GET INFO email [email protected] 

BE a game changer go to www.animaecaribe.com/overview/