Award-winning animation studio Blinkink partners with Film London and Arts Council England’s program supporting black-identifying artists within the art, film, and animation; artists receive £3,000 each to create 1–3-minute animations, along with mentoring opportunities, development support, and advice.
Film London and Arts Council England’s FLAMIN Animations have selected four artists to participate in its commissioning program for early-career Black artist animators living in the UK. Launched in 2021, the program aims to support artist animators as they take their first steps into a career working with the moving image, with development support and funding for a new animated short film. This year the organization has partnered with award-winning animation studio Blinkink, which will provide support to the selected animators.
Part of FLAMIN (Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network), and Film London’s increased commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, the program addresses and acknowledges the underrepresentation of black-identifying artists within the art, film, and animation industries.
Artists receive £3,000 to create a new two-three-minute animation, as well as mentoring, development support and advice.
The selected FLAMIN Animators 2024-25 are:
- Faye Craig
- Aliyah Harfoot
- Caroline James
- Jess Stephens
Previous FLAMIN Animators’ work have appeared at festivals including the London International Animation Festival, B3 Biennial of the Moving Image (Frankfurt), and Edinburgh International Film Festival. Alumni from the program have received accolades including the Margaret Tait Commission from LUX Scotland and showcased work as part of the CIRCA Prize on public screens worldwide. Each year, the new commissions appear in London in partnership with The New Black Film Collective at TNB XPO, an event celebrating Black excellence in the screen industries.
“We’re thrilled to announce the artists selected for this year’s FLAMIN Animations program,” Adrian Wootton, OBE, chief executive of Film London and the British Film Commission. “The scheme is continuing to champion underrepresented talent with an exciting new group of animators, who this year will receive the inspirational support of Blinkink to realize their creative visions and build the foundations for a career in the industry. We’re more excited than ever to see this year’s commissions develop and hope that FLAMIN Animations will continue to support a network of emerging Black artists in the animation sector.”
“We're incredibly proud of the opportunity to contribute to FLAMIN Animations, an outstanding Film London initiative that champions diversity and equity within the animation industry,” added Blinkink executive producer Josef Byrne. “We can't wait to see the finished films from this year's cohort.”
Additional information about the selected artists is available here.
Source: Film London
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
