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Audiovisual attaché French embassy in Nigeria, Christophe Pecot, left; Duru Joseph Azubuike of Magic Carpet studio; intern, French animation school, Les Gobelins, Akin Aduniyi and Chekwube Okonkwo of Magic Carpet Studio
In the first half of 2025, the French Embassy, in partnership with several animation studios, implemented a series of technical workshops aimed at strengthening the skills of Nigerian creatives all over the country.
Since 2022, the French Embassy in Nigeria has actively supported Nigerian animation professionals in participating in major international events such as the MIFA (International Animation Film Market) in Annecy or MIP Junior in Cannes.
This sustained engagement has significantly contributed to the success of several international collaborative projects.
However, the embassy has noted that continued support, particularly in training and capacity building, remains essential.
This dynamic support continues to evolve in 2025, with the organisation of new workshops throughout the year.
Just back from a two-month stop motion immersion and internship in Rennes, France;
Nigerian artist, Esther Kemi Gbadamosi, completed a two-month internship at JPL Films, a stop motion production studio. During this residency, she contributed to the creation of sets and puppets for the French feature film, Seraphine. Under the mentorship of experienced French professionals, she developed valuable new skills that she will now apply to the production of her own short film and a series currently in development. In addition, Gbadamosi is planning to launch awareness and training workshops dedicated to stop motion animation in Nigeria.
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Furthermore, as part of the Franco-Nigerian co-production of the animated feature film, The Passport of Mallam Ilia, between Magic Carpet and the French producer, IFind Pictures, currently in production in Nigeria; the French Embassy launched two major training initiatives.
The first benefited two Nigerian animators from Magic Carpet Studio, Duru Joseph Azubuike and Chekwube Emmanuel Okonkwo, who participated in an immersive training at Sharly Dubbing, a French post-production studio in Paris.
Over the course of two weeks, the participants received expert guidance on advanced post-production techniques including editing and color grading for animated films.
The second initiative involved a Nigerian student in his final year at Gobelins, the renowned animation school in Paris, who joined the Magic Carpet production team in Nigeria. For six weeks, he contributed his expertise and technical skills to the ongoing work on The Passport of Mallam Ilia.
For the fourth consecutive year, the French Embassy, in partnership with the association Animation Nigeria, supported about 25 Nigerian animation studios at the MIFA in Annecy. Five of these studios presented their projects during a “pitch” session attended by over 80 international professionals.
To ensure effective presentations, the Embassy organised a week-long pitch training workshop in Lagos, led by a team of three French and Nigerian experts, a month prior to the event. In addition to the pitch session, numerous professional meetings took place at the Nigerian pavilion, present at MIFA for the fourth year in a row with the Embassy’s support.
To date, two co-production agreements for short films have been signed between Nigerian studios, Magic Carpet and Guereza, and French producers Ifind Pictures and QWest Medias.
In 2025, two new co-production agreements for feature films have been finalised, one of them during MIFA in Annecy. While the details of one project will be announced soon, the second, The Passport of Mallam Ilia, has officially entered production.
The connections and networking opportunities established through Nigeria’s growing presence at MIFA and events like MIPJunior and MIPCOM in Cannes (2023 and 2024) have played a vital role in making these partnerships a reality.
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