By Zach Johnson
Fourteen creators from six African countries will bring their unique visions to audiences around the world with Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, a Disney+ Original. The 10-part collection of premium original films is set to premiere exclusively on Disney+ in late 2022.
This animated anthology brings together a new wave of animation stars to take you on a wildly entertaining ride into Africa’s future. Inspired by the continent’s diverse histories and cultures, these action-packed sci-fi and fantasy stories present bold visions of advanced technology, aliens, spirits, and monsters imagined from uniquely African perspectives.
Peter Ramsey, Academy Award®-winning director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will serve as executive producer for the anthology, with Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston serving as supervising producers. Triggerfish will be the lead studio for the anthology and will collaborate with animation studios across the continent and globally.
“We are bringing the work of a visionary new generation of African filmmakers to Disney+,” said,” Michael Paull, President, Disney+ and ESPN+, The Walt Disney Company. “In addition to delivering thrilling animation for fans of all ages, this collection of ten original films taps into the Afrofuturism phenomenon which was turbo-charged by Marvel’s Black Panther and reflects Disney’s ongoing commitment to partnering with leading global talent to tell the stories of the world from fresh and authentic points of view.”
“Kizazi Moto derives from the Swahili phrase ‘kizazi cha moto’ which literally translates as ‘fire generation’, capturing the passion, innovation and excitement this new cohort of African filmmakers is ready to bring to the world,” said Nyeke, supervising producer, Triggerfish. “’Moto’ also means fire in several other African languages, from Rwanda’s Kinyarwanda to Shona, a Zimbabwean language, speaking to the pan-African spirit we hope this anthology embodies.”
Added Ramsey, “I’m really pleased to part of a groundbreaking, fresh and exciting project that’s aimed at exposing the world to a whole new wave of creativity and invention from a place that is just ready to explode onto the world animation scene. The films in the anthology kind of run the gamut when it comes to science fiction. There are stories that touch on other worlds, time travel, and alien beings, but all of these genre conventions are seen through an African lens that makes them totally new. I can’t wait for people to have their minds blown and say, ‘I want more!’”
More than 70 leading directors and creators across Africa were invited to pitch their ideas for Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, following a multi-year research phase that included input from Ghanaian comic book blogger Kadi Tay, award-winning Congolese animation supervisor Sidney Kimbo-Kintombo, and Namibian-South African producer Bridget Pickering. The process was curated and produced by the team at Triggerfish, including Nyeke, Silverston and Kevin Kriedemann, who proposed the initial idea for the anthology. Fifteen shortlisted projects were mentored by Ramsey and the creative teams from Triggerfish and Disney.
The final 10 films will come from the following creators:
- Ahmed Teilab (Egypt)
- Simangaliso ‘Panda’ Sibaya and Malcolm Wope (South Africa)
- Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane (South Africa)
- Ng’endo Mukii (Kenya)
- Shofela Coker (Nigeria)
- Nthato Mokgata and Terence Neale (South Africa)
- Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove (Zimbabwe)
- Tshepo Moche (South Africa)
- Raymond Malinga (Uganda)
- Lesego Vorster (South Africa)
Each film will be roughly 10 minutes long and together will comprise a feature-length anthology of original animation to be released as a Disney+ Original around the world.
