- 30 Oct – 01 Nov 2026
- The Rockefeller Hotel, CPT
Get ready to be captivated by the brilliance of African cinema at the FAME Shorts Film Festival! This exciting festival showcases thought-provoking films from the most innovative and creative filmmakers across the continent. It’s a festival you absolutely can’t miss.
The FAME Short Film Festival celebrates Africa’s rich diversity and its diaspora through films that explore themes like cultural heritage, modern life, diasporic identity, historical events, and pressing socio-political issues. From personal stories and biographies to artistic creativity and tales of innovation, the festival highlights the intricate intersectionality within African societies.
In partnership with FAME Week Africa, the FAME Short Film Festival features a wide variety of events for filmmakers to participate in. From 28 to 30 October 2026, the Cape Town International Convention Centre will buzz with content sessions, workshops, and masterclasses presented by industry professionals. These events aim to educate and inspire professionals within the film and television industry.
Join us for a celebration of creativity, storytelling, and cultural expression at the FAME Short Film Festival – where the best of African indie cinema comes to life in a fun and engaging atmosphere!
For its fourth edition, the FAME Shorts Film Festival handed over its much-loved penguin mascot to a new creative voice. Marley Schmidt, a first-year BA Animation student at SAE, created the artwork which served as the inspiration for the official artwork for this year’s festival.
We caught up with Marley to talk about turning our penguin into a filmmaker, the organised chaos of making movies, the inspiration behind the poster and her own dreams of one day creating cartoons.
The penguin has become the face of FAME Shorts. How did you approach giving our mascot a personality in this year’s poster? I started thinking about all the filmmakers coming to the festival, excited to show everyone what they’ve made. I wanted to capture that joy in this year’s poster, so I thought it would be cute to put the main FAME Shorts penguin out front as the director, leading the crew.
What’s the story behind the scene? Where are all these penguins going? My idea was to have all these bright-eyed penguins marching along the beach towards the festival, ready to show off their films. They’re all part of different film crews, waving their flippers at the onlookers as they go.
The poster feels playful, quirky and slightly chaotic. What inspired the overall creative direction? Filmmaking can be chaotic by nature, but there’s a reason we keep doing it — it’s fun! I wanted the poster to capture that, so I made it busy, silly and focused on all the filmmaker penguins. I usually use bold, expressive lines in my art, so it felt natural to bring that style into the poster too.
There are lots of little details throughout the artwork. What should people look out for? I wanted to give as many penguins as possible different crew roles and personalities. I also gave them different ways of waving to the crowd, so there are lots of small details to discover when you look closely.
If the FAME Shorts penguin were actually a filmmaker, what kind of films would they make? Definitely dramatic films that require as many extras as possible — just so all their other penguin friends can feature in the background!
Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get into illustration and animation? I’ve been drawing since I was tiny, although I only started thinking seriously about learning the fundamentals much later. A huge part of that came from being a fan of animation. After watching animated movies on DVD and amazing cartoons on YouTube, I knew I needed to find a way to make my drawings move.
How would you describe your creative style, and what inspires your work? My drawing and animation style is primarily focused on being fun to look at. I love bold lines, bold colours and getting as much personality into an image as possible. Even when I’m not animating, I like creating the feeling that my characters are in motion. I’m heavily influenced by the aesthetics of the 2000s and all the animation I’ve consumed throughout my life. Stories with lots of style and personality, like Scissor Seven, Scott Pilgrim, Gurren Lagann and FLCL, really speak to me, as do bombastic animators like Hiroyuki Imaishi.
What’s the dream project you’d immediately say yes to? I’ve always been most excited by the idea of creating my own cartoons one day. I’m always thinking about it! It might feel lofty, but what kind of artist should keep their dreams small?
