A group of Cape Town-based artists and animators, Blue Forest Collective, yesterday launched a crowdfunding campaign for their graphic novel project called Kariba.
Kariba launched on the US-based crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, which allows fans to contribute an amount of their choice. The campaign runs for 30 days and aims to raise $20 000.
Blue Forest Collective comprises creator Daniel Clarke, story editor Daniel Snaddon, animation director Jac Hamman, and digital strategist Sarah Scrimgeour.
The graphic novel was originally conceived as a 2D-animated feature film and first drew attention when the team released a teaser trailer in April 2015. According to the team, the video garnered over 250 000 views on Vimeo and made it to the front page of Web site, Reddit.
The campaign has received a shot in the arm from Cape Town's Triggerfish Animation Studios, which has pledged to match 50% of the funds raised.
"We have been impressed by the quality of work produced by the talented team behind Kariba and have the utmost faith in their abilities to create a world-class product," says Anthony Silverston, head of development at Triggerfish. "The Kickstarter campaign will allow us to see if there is enough of a support base to pursue the project long-term, with the ultimate goal to produce a feature-length film with global appeal."
Set in Zimbabwe, Kariba interweaves history and mythology through a retelling of the embattled construction of the Kariba Dam in the 1950s. Clarke's grandfather, a Zimbabwean, is responsible for sparking the story idea, Clarke explains.
"My grandfather told me about the repeated disasters the dam suffered during its construction, and the local legend that Nyami-Nyami, the river spirit, was angry that the dam had separated him from his wife," says Clarke.
Blue Forest's version envisages the story through the eyes of Nyami-Nyami's daughter, a girl named Siku who develops a friendship with the dam-builder's son, Amedeo.
"We received huge encouragement right from the get-go to do a crowdfunding campaign for a feature film," says Clarke. "The idea of starting with a graphic novel rather than a script, and then expanding it into a movie, was a natural fit for the Kickstarter platform, the project's audience and for myself as a visual artist," he explains.
The team aims to deliver a 100+ page graphic novel, available on a limited edition pre-order basis in both hardcover and softcover.
"Triggerfish has brought us a lot closer to making our vision a reality," adds Snaddon. "But in the end, it's all going to be up to the community we can attract around our vision. We hope Kariba fans are as excited about this next step as we are."
Depending on the size of the pledge made, backers will receive a variety of rewards, such as a printed copy of the graphic novel, original character sketches, and their name printed on the contributor page. Pledge options start from $5.
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