As preparations advance towards the 8th edition of the Lagos International Festival of Animation (LIFANIMA), the Bank of Industry has confirmed its sponsorship of the festival for the second year running. This reinforces the bank’s continued support for the creative industry, which is now fully recognised as a critical growth sector of the economy.
LIFANIMA 2024 comes up on 29th–31st October and has received more than 1,106 entries from 112 countries. Globally, the United States has the highest number of entries with 142 short films while Nigeria leads in Africa with 28 entries, followed by South Africa with 19 submissions. In Europe, the festival received the highest number of submissions from France with 62 submissions, with the United Kingdom coming second with 46. This underscores the need for the promotion of more animation production in Africa.
LIFANIMA was established in 2016 by USP Brand Management to provide a platform for the promotion of African animation and the rapid development of this segment of the creative economy. The festival focuses on various kinds of animation and visual effects and gives awards in five categories. These are 2D Animation, 3D Animation, Stop Motion Animation, Visual Effects and Animation Commercial.
LIFANIMA is the second largest animation film festival in Africa and is presented in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Embassy of France in Nigeria. The Film festival is endorsed by the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, LSFVCB.
The festival features Screening of Selected Works, Award Presentations, Networking and Entertainment, and attracts Animators; local and foreign, Filmmakers, Investors, Financial Institutions, Advertising agencies, Musical Video Producers, Media Practitioners, Digital Marketing professionals, Government agencies, Information Technology companies/manufacturers and the public.
