Francis Y Brown at the Emmys: Taking the brilliance of Ghanaian animations and film to the world
The talented animations professional says he has come to understand in his career that opportunities abound in gaps
Two weeks after his return from France as a participant at the world’s biggest animations festival, Le Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy, Francis Y Brown has become Africa’s youngest and Ghana’s first animation professional to join the prestigious academy of Hollywood’s Emmy Awards (Emmys).
The young, alluring Francis Y Brown can boast of many things in his decade-long career.
Today known as the go-to person in the African animations industry, he got a leg-up at the beginning of his career after he was shortlisted at the 42nd student Oscars in 2015.
Fast forward to 2022, Francis Y Brown has become a reference in the international creative arts industry and awards academies.
“In an initial email from the Emmys, I was informed by the Academy that I had been nominated by one of its jury members to be part of them. I followed it up with my CV after which a vetting process led to my being elected as a member of the Academy,” said Francis.
Membership of the independent Emmys Academy is composed of television and media leaders from around the world.
A press release by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announcing the new 29 members on Friday 1 July read: “On behalf of our President and CEO, Bruce Paisner, and the International Academy Nominating Committee, we are proud to welcome our newly elected Members”. Francis is one of 29 new Emmy Academy members.
Academy membership is for a lifetime, but only for members who continue to remain active in the industry. The academy regularly sits to discuss ideas and cross-cultural issues, new strategies and how to promote them for developing quality global television programming.
The Emmys is not the only global television programming scene that has recognised Francis Y Brown’s talent.
In June 2022, the young Ghanaian animations professional was made a jury member at MIPCOM (Marché International des Programmes de Communication), which is part of the multinational Reed Exhibitions.
He continues to be a regular feature at Meta Cinema Forum, the largest Africa and Middle East film and cinema convention.
Francis said that he has “earned” his place on the global stage: “In 2016, armed with a shoestring budget and a lot of mad courage, I plodded along unbeaten paths on a soul-searching journey across Africa to find and create aspirational networks in the Animations ecosystem.
“That shoestring budget was constantly at a dangerous breaking point, and I kept asking myself if I was not being quixotic, like Don Quixote, you know. That year, I emerged with the best animation film in Africa at the Africa International Film Festival in Lagos, Nigeria.”
But while this appointment may come as a surprise to many, Francis has quietly built indelible footprints across Africa and the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
He is also a planning committee member and artistic director of the Afrotino music festival where Latino and African performers will be meeting in a series of cross-country concerts [Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico].
Recalling his trajectory from the world’s biggest animations festival in France where he led some of Ghana’s finest animations talents in June 2022, he said: “The story began in 2015 when I attended [Le Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy]. I was alone, lonely and lost in a sea of huge national representations… My feeling of loneliness at the event led to deep introspective moments, and I promised to advocate for more inclusion from Ghana…”
Francis recently wrote on one of his regular LinkedIn posts that: “until recently, Ghana’s animation ecosystem had been off the radar […] due to a general lack of information […] as a result, there was little awareness and very few collaborations in the industry.”
Naturally, Francis’s election to join the academy of the Emmy’s brings his achievements to the fore. But these achievements, according to the young Ghanaian talent, did not just happen.
“I saw a deep fissure in the industry, where artists were far removed from the industry”, says Francis. “What I have come to understand in my career so far, is that opportunities abound in gaps.”
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