Stuart Forrest (BTech Fine Art 1996) and Laduma Ngxokolo (BTech Textile Design 2010) this week both received international recognition at the highest level for their work.
Stuart, CEO of award-winning Cape Town animation company, Triggerfish, was delighted to find out that The Snail and the Whale – an animation production by Triggerfish in partnership with UK-based, Magic Light, has made it to the top 10 in the Animated Short Film category for the 93rd Academy Awards.
The 27-minute film was selected from 96 films that qualified in the category. The top five will be selected in March. “It is such an honour to be in the top 10 – confirmation that our work is among the best in the world” said Stuart.
Best known for producing two of Africa's globally successful films, Adventures in Zambezia and Khumba, Triggerfish has also won several Best-In-World awards for other productions in collaboration with Magic Light Pictures, notably "Stick Man" and Roald Dahl's "Revolting Rhymes" the latter being nominated for a British Academy Award and an International Emmy.
And staying with movies, Laduma’s MaXhosa brand is featured in the wardrobe of the soon-to-be-released Coming to America 2, the much-anticipated sequel to the hit comedy Coming to America.
Box office star and funnyman, Eddie Murphy can be seen sporting one of Laduma’s designs in the trailer of the movie which will be released early next month.
In addition to Eddie Murphy’s outfits, South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha also stars in the film and can be seen wearing one of his garments.
Laduma says it feels surreal to have his work featured in such a prominent film.
He was delighted to learn that Ms Mbatha actually schooled the cast about the heritage behind the brand’s designs – his signature prints inspired by traditional Xhosa beadwork patterns.
Laduma was approached by Ruth Carter, the movie’s costume designer who won an Oscar for her work on Black Panther, to co-work with her on a few MaXhosa pieces for the film.
“My team and I enjoyed every minute of working on this project, we were especially delighted to see our pieces on our very own Nomzamo and several other actors we grew up dreaming of meeting,” said Laduma.
Both Alumni have been recognised for their excellence by their alma mater, Laduma received a Rising Star Award in 2012 and Stuart, an Alumni Achiever Award in 2017.