Tabby Maktat is a story about the friendship between a musical cat and the talented street performer Fred.
For the second year in a row, a South African won the animation category at the International Children's Emmy Awards.
Directors Jack Hamman and Sarah Scrimgeour won for their work on the animated cat film Tabby McTat at the awards Monday night.
The recipients of this award in 2023 are: The Smets and the Smoothdirected by Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler. This short film is an adaptation of the best-selling picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
“Growing up, you always dream of winning one of these awards, but it seems so impossible,” Hamann said.
“I never imagined that I could reach that level as a South African, so it feels great to win after all the hard work. We are very proud of the team.”
Due to other commitments in Cape Town, the winning pair were unable to attend the awards ceremony in New York.
“Being on the other side of the world and busy with other things makes it a bit difficult to go to these big events,” Scrimgeour said.
“That would have been great, but I hope Tabby stays on the awards stage a little longer and maybe he still has a chance to win one or two more.”
Production: Magic Light Pictures, Tabby Maktat was one of the top 10 most-watched TV shows in the UK on Christmas Day 2023 and became the most-watched animated feature on UK broadcasters over the Christmas period, attracting over 8.6 million viewers. It fascinated me.
At the beginning of this year, Tabby Maktat Won the Audience Award at the New York International Children's Film Festival in the “BANFF World Media Festival” Animation: Preschool category.
In addition to the Rose d'Or Award in December, it has also been nominated for the Royal Television Society Award and the Venice Television Award.
Also read: Cape Town creator eyes Emmy gold for 'Tabby Maktat'
Cat lovers
Tabby Maktat This work depicts the friendship between a musical cat and a talented street performer named Fred.
One day, while chasing a thief, Fred falls and breaks his leg, and is taken away by ambulance. What happens to a street performer's cat left alone on a London street?
Author Donaldson has a strong connection to this story. She loved busking with her husband while living in Bristol and Paris.
“We both love cats, and in fact, we just got two new kittens named Tabatha and Maktat. So this story is very close to my heart and I love singing and cats. It combines two of my passions,” Donaldson declared.
The award-winning director of Scrimgeour is also a pet cat lover. “I love cats, so this is a story about musical cats. Honestly, how can I resist?”
Co-director Hamann said he was drawn to the story's universal themes.
“It feels like a very adult message about how you grow up away from your friends, how relationships change, and how a child has to leave their parents to start a family of their own.” It was very emotional and I was excited to see how we could make it into a movie and push that emotion.
I liked the idea that parents could watch this movie with their kids and maybe pull them in and squeeze them tighter because of the themes of the transience of relationships and how relationships change. I did. ”
Tabby Maktat You can stream it on Showmax.
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