Comic Con Cape Town is giving young creatives a proper way into animation. The Cape Town International Animation Festival, better known as CTIAF, is back as part of Comic Con Cape Town 2026, which runs from 30 April to 3 May at CTICC 2.
The partnership has been in place since the Cape Town edition launched in 2023, and this year’s programme leans hard into practical learning, screenings, and career exposure for teenagers who want more than just a cool day out.
Animation is treated like magic by people who only ever see the polished final product. What CTIAF is doing at Comic Con Cape Town is pulling back the curtain a bit and showing younger fans this is a real career path.
And crucially, it’s included in the ticket.
CTIAF at Comic Con Cape Town
This pairing makes perfect sence. Both events are built around fandom, creativity, passion, and the people who make the stuff everyone obsesses over.
CTIAF is positioned as Africa’s biggest dedicated animation festival, while Comic Con Cape Town already pulls in huge crowds of fans, artists, cosplayers, and aspiring creators. Put them together and it just works.
There’s also a local angle here that makes the partnership stronger.
Cape Town has been carving out space in the global animation conversation, and the source material points to Sunrise Studios’ David as one example of that momentum. So instead of treating animation as something that happens overseas, the festival is grounding it in local work and local possibility.
Screenings and schedules
The CTIAF zone at Comic Con Cape Town will host one screening and two workshops each day in Hall 8. The workshops are aimed at ages 12 to 18 and are being presented with The Animation School and SAE Institute South Africa, two names with real weight in this space.
The screenings run daily from 12:00 to 14:00 and feature African animated titles including:
- Glisten,
- Kalk Bay Fisherman,
- Purr Factory,
- The Rise and Fall,
- Gully for You,
- Muti’s Cape Town,
- Bounce,
- Super Dad,
- Gale of the Cape,
- Gelato Roboto,
- Azania Rises,
- Wildlife camera man,
- By Two,
- Rorisang and the gurlz.
The workshops cover everything from storyboards and comics to pixel art, character design, 3D game worlds, and stylised painting for 3D models. In other words, this is hands-on. It’s specific and it lets people try the work.
ALSO READ: Women running the show: Inside Comic Con Africa 2025
Comic Con Cape Town helping young artists
One of the smartest parts of this programme is that it doesn’t assume young people already know where they fit. Some will be into drawing. Some will be into games. Some will like performance, movement, or visual storytelling and only realise later that animation is where those interests meet.
That’s part of what the organisers are getting at. The Animation School’s Shani Campbell says the initiative is about access and inspiration, and about opening doors for young creatives to explore careers in animation and storytelling.
SAE Institute’s Cameron Lawry makes a similar point, describing the workshops as a chance for aspiring artists to learn, create, and get inspired, whether they’re just starting out or already experimenting with digital tools.
Don’t miss this session
There’s also a session from Sunrise Studios on the making of David, scheduled for Friday 1 May from 13:30 to 14:00 on the Main Stage.
The team will unpack what goes into building an animation project at that scale, which is exactly the kind of session that can shift animation from abstract dream to practical ambition.
For fans, it’s a behind-the-scenes talk. For anyone seriously considering this field, it’s something more useful than hype because it’s an actual look at the process behind animation.
And honestly, that’s what makes this CTIAF presence at Comic Con Cape Town worth paying attention to.
NOW READ: Stardust and self-belief: In conversation with Julie Caitlin Brown at Comic Con Africa
