Kennedy Kioa Faimanifo
- Animation Department
- Visual Effects
- Producer
Kennedy Faimanifo was born in South Auckland, New Zealand. Born with his grandmothers last name (Maori heritage , Nga puhi) with the last name Toi which is Maori for Art. Later on changed to Faimanifo his fathers family name.
Was brought up in Manurewa, a low decile state home town with strong gangs affiliations, violence and abuse. At the age of 5 he decided he wanted to pursue the dream of becoming an artist on films. Inspired by Disney and everything they stand for Ken made every step through school and studies to get there.
Coming from a background where he was shown that life was difficult and that you had to work hard to break out of the normal life accustom to those who lived in South Auckland. With a strong father figure, Kens Dad Talamoni Tofilau Faimanifo. Would mold him into a young man who played Rugby, trained in boxing but also supported his passion for drawing through drawing classes.
Out of high school at the age of 18 Ken pursued his dream of becoming an animator. Studying for 4 years at a school called Freelance Animation School where they trained students in the art of classical hand drawn animation techniques. With this industry fading in NZ he was forced to up skill and study an additional year at Media Design School Auckland. From here the sky was the limit. He was introduced to computers and software but most of all the internet and tools to teach and develop skills himself.
During his studies he worked with many studios for work experience. Making some decisions along the way for his family and children born 2008 and 2009 work was limited to Auckland or close by. Ken taught 3D Animation Production for 7-8 years with a variety of tertiary institutes while pursuing his Masters with Media Design School.
2017 Ken finally had pursued one of his many dreams of working with Weta on films in the VFX industry the rest is history.
Was brought up in Manurewa, a low decile state home town with strong gangs affiliations, violence and abuse. At the age of 5 he decided he wanted to pursue the dream of becoming an artist on films. Inspired by Disney and everything they stand for Ken made every step through school and studies to get there.
Coming from a background where he was shown that life was difficult and that you had to work hard to break out of the normal life accustom to those who lived in South Auckland. With a strong father figure, Kens Dad Talamoni Tofilau Faimanifo. Would mold him into a young man who played Rugby, trained in boxing but also supported his passion for drawing through drawing classes.
Out of high school at the age of 18 Ken pursued his dream of becoming an animator. Studying for 4 years at a school called Freelance Animation School where they trained students in the art of classical hand drawn animation techniques. With this industry fading in NZ he was forced to up skill and study an additional year at Media Design School Auckland. From here the sky was the limit. He was introduced to computers and software but most of all the internet and tools to teach and develop skills himself.
During his studies he worked with many studios for work experience. Making some decisions along the way for his family and children born 2008 and 2009 work was limited to Auckland or close by. Ken taught 3D Animation Production for 7-8 years with a variety of tertiary institutes while pursuing his Masters with Media Design School.
2017 Ken finally had pursued one of his many dreams of working with Weta on films in the VFX industry the rest is history.
