Young filmmaker wins “Best Animation Film” at 2016 AIFF

David Mawuli 15:11 - 21 November 2016

Francis Y. Brown shows off his award

Francis beat tight competition from 15 other nominees to cling the prestigious accolade at a ceremony held at the Convention Center of Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos on Saturday, November 19.

Young Ghanaian filmmaker Francis Yushau Brown’s 11:08 minutes short animation film titled “Agorkoli” has been adjudged “Best Animation Film” at the 2016 Africa International Film Festival’s Globe Award.

The 2015 animation film which was premiered at the British Council has attracted both local and international attention due to its unique African storytelling and that could be one of the reasons why it won the award.

Speaking to Pulse.com.gh in an exclusive interview, Francis disclosed that the award came through hard work and the grace of God. “I guess hard work pays right. My award was actually based on telling a true African story. We were about 16 films in my category so I guess I can also say it’s by the grace of God,” Francis told Pulse.com.gh

He added that the award came to him as a shock. “I was Shocked! Mehn! Because there were some serious films and big names in there.”

Other winners include Oronto Douglas Award for Best Nigerian Film – Green White Green by Abba Makama, Best Lead Actress – Bimbo Akintola for 93 Days, Audience Choice Awards – Slow Country by Eric Aghimien.

Francis is an award-winning filmmaker from Ghana and is the director of Animax FYB Studios, trained in a number of different cinematic mediums, and has over ten years experience in the audiovisual industry.

He specialises in Graphic Design, Illustration and Film Making (Animation), having attained a Bachelor Degree in Fine Art (Specialized in Animation production) at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).

He is interested in multimedia because it informs people in an audiovisual and creative way. Considering that people learn through the utilisation of their senses, I believe that sight and sound enable people to not only be interested in what they are viewing but to also internalise it in an effective manner.

He counts Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Tyler Perry and Richard Williams among his role models. Disney, he believes, is the father of animation and Francis is inspired by the high commitment to animation that he sees in his idol. Hitchcock’s influence comes in the form of Francis’ belief that films should not just entertain, but instead, hold deeper meanings, and to this end, he emulates Tyler Perry’s commitment to social issues. Finally, in Richard Williams, he sees an influential teacher.

Francis is best described as an open minded young man who believes every action should be supported by sound reasoning and has a deep love for art and history.