Rob Brydon voices Fred and Sope Dirisu voices Tabby McTat in the animation. Picture: Supplied.
South African directors Jac Hamman and Sarah Scrimgeour are celebrating their International Emmy Award (iEmmy) win for their animated children's film "Tabby McTat", highlighting the growing success of the country's creative industry.
The pair took the honours for Kids: Animation in New York City on Monday night.
Their win comes after “ The Smeds and The Smoos”, directed by South Africa’s Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler, won an iEmmy last year.
The kykNET reality series “Die Brug” was also nominated in the Non-Scripted Entertainment category for this year’s awards.
Hamman and Scrimgeour, who were unable to attend the ceremony, are thrilled about their win.
“Growing up, you always dream of winning one of these awards but it seems so impossible,” Hamman said in a statement.
“You don’t imagine as a South African you can reach that level so it feels great to win after all the hard work and we’re very proud of the team.”
“Tabby McTat”, which is available to stream on Showmax, is adapted from the best-selling picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
The BBC Christmas special was up against the likes of “Mystery Lane”, “Sharkdog” and “Wake Up, Carlo!” in the animation category.
The 25-minute short film has earned widespread recognition as it centres around the heartwarming friendship between a musical cat and a talented busker called Fred.
It stars British Academy Film Awards (Bafta) nominees Rob Brydon and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísú as Fred and Tabby, with Critics' Choice Super nominee Jodie Whittaker as the narrator.
Produced by Magic Light Pictures, “Tabby McTat” was one of the 10 most-watched shows on television in England on Christmas Day last year.
It was also the most-watched animated feature from UK broadcasters across the festive period, attracting over 8.6 million viewers.
"I used to love busking with my husband Malcolm when we were living in Bristol, and also in Paris,” Donaldson added.
“We also both love cats, in fact, we've just acquired two new kittens named Tabitha and McTat so this story is really close to my heart and combines two of my passions: singing and cats."
Meanwhile, Scrimgeour, who sings to her cats, believes that “Tabby McTat” was the perfect project for her.
“I adore cats and this is a story about a musical cat. Honestly, how could I resist?”
Hamman said that he was drawn to the themes of the books.
“It felt like it was quite a mature message about how you can grow apart from a friend and how relationships change and about a child having to leave their parents’ home to start their own family.”
“It’s very moving and I was excited to see how we could turn that into a film and push those emotions.
“I liked the idea of a parent watching the film with their child and that they might just pull them in and squeeze them all the tighter because of those themes about the temporariness of relationships and how they change.”
Working remotely from Cape Town, Hamman and Scrimgeour spent around 18 months directing a team of over 80 who were mostly based in the UK.
“Tabby McTat” is their sixth BBC Christmas special and their second as directors, after the success of “Superworm”, which won Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie at the Kidscreen Awards last year.
The duo weren’t the only South Africans involved in the animation as their long-time collaborator and art director Shannan Taylor was also part of their team.
“I also think there’s a South African work ethic, especially with someone like Shannan, you have to pull her away from work,” Hamman said.
Meanwhile, “Tabby McTat” also won a BANFF World Media Festival and the Audience Award at the New York International Children’s Film Festival in the Animation: Preschool category earlier this year.
It’s also been nominated for a Rose d’Or Award with the ceremony set to take place in London next month.
Watch the trailer here: