Film London and Arts Council England have selected four finalists for the inaugural FLAMIN Animations diversity and inclusion initiative. Each will receive mentorship and funding to make a short film that will premiere on Film London’s website this winter.

The four finalists are Toby Cato (top left), a self-taught freelance animator living in Southeast London who specializes in photography, paint and digital animation, and is inspired by his father’s Jamaican heritage; Mothy Muyobo (top right), who got into animation at age 16 and focuses on Black women, men, trans people and children in her work; Zainab Sanyang (bottom left), a multi-disciplinary artist who explores textures and organic subjects; and Ezra Myers (bottom right), whose art draws on both Caribbean experiences and merged Caribbean and British cultures.

The finalists will receive US$3,439 (GBP£2,500) in funding to make their shorts, which will be between one and to three minutes long. Film London is also providing a variety of networking and mentoring opportunities for the program’s other applicants.

FLAMIN Animations, which launched earlier this year, is designed to support undiscovered creators and artists ages 18 to 25 living in the UK who are of African or Caribbean descent; who have Black African, Caribbean, Afro-Latinx and African-American heritage; or who have mixed-Black heritage or identify as such.