PALM BEACHES’ FIRST: The independent Exhibit Treal Studios won for their project, “Peanut Headz: Black History Toonz – Jackie Robinson,” in a category stacked with heavyweights such as Disney’s Pixar Animation Studio. PHOTO COURTESY OF EXHIBIT TREAL STUDIOS

West Palm Beach  – “The third time’s the charm!” exclaimed Exhibit Treal Studios owner Jason “JaFLEU” Fleurant, a self-taught Haitian American artist/filmmaker, upon hearing they had won the 56th NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Form (Animated).

“I felt like that meme of Beyonce at the Grammy’s,” said JaFLEU. “I was in complete shock like, ‘I know you lying!’ I kept saying that.”

JaFLEU, who wrote/directed/animated/edited and also voiced a character in the short, said he’s “really proud of the cast’s hard work and everyone who voted for us. I’ve been watching the NAACP Image Awards since I was 10 years old. I’m 40 now and I was moved watching as a winner.”

Exhibit Treal had been nominated three times, receiving their first in 2022 in the “Outstanding Animated Series” category for “Peanut Headz: Black History Toonz”; followed by 2024’s nomination of the short film “Ego’s Curse.”

The studio won this year for their project, “Peanut Headz: Black History Toonz – Jackie Robinson.”

The category was stacked with heavyweights such as Disney’s Pixar Animation Studio.

JaFLEU said the win for Exhibit Treal Studios, which focuses on uplifting Black storytelling through animation, “means I’m not crazy. That there is value in sharing our stories, our history and I plan to keep doing that.

“As Nina Simone says ‘We’re gonna do everything from the heart and do it good!’ I only hope that this means the support for the work will be there as well.”

To see Peanut Headz shorts as well as episodes from the series on the Exhibit Treal Studios channel, visit direct.me/trealtoonz.