Wilhelmina Iimene
What started as two animation lovers daydreaming about creating animation became a registered venture called Rex Animation Film Studio.
Started by James Hango and Vernna Muronga in 2017 and based in Rundu, the studio, amongst others, designs illustrations, comic storybooks and animated music videos. They also offer film production services such as transcriptions, video editing and production.
Hango told VIBEZ! he has been drawing since 5th grade and used to mimic drawings from the Supa Strika comics.
Muronga, on the other hand, loves to paint and has always been entrepreneurial.
“She always coloured in what I drew and so we discussed how to capitalise future projects,” he said.
The duo is primarily inspired by African history, its cultures and future, hence their overarching concept is Afro-futurism. Overall, the two artists draw inspiration from their personal lives, and their artworks portray their thoughts, hopes and dreams.
Muronga (27), the managing director and producer of the company, studied television production at the College of the Arts (COTA).
“I initially went looking for an animation course but was told it does not exist, so I opted for TV because I still wanted to learn and find my way into the film industry,” she recalled.
Muronga worked on multiple films, both locally and internationally, before deciding to focus more on animation production in 2019.
Walvis Bay-born Hango (30) is the art director or head of production. Like his partner, he too wanted to do animation at COTA but ended up doing visual arts, as he still wanted to fine-tune his drawings. At the college, he associated himself with the television course students, met Muronga and they decided to become business partners.
Initially, they did comic art as a hobby as they were both passionate about it, but were only creating for themselves and sharing it with those close to them. They decided to turn it into a business after many people requested art pieces from them.
The two now run a business they are passionate about, and are already collaborating with other aspiring animators on some “amazing” projects.
Watch this space to see how Rex Animation grows. Their Instagram: rex_animation_filmstudio
– imenewilly@gmail.com