Disney+ on Friday announced that an upcoming animated anthology film, titled Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, will release on the streaming platform in late 2022. Created by filmmakers from Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt, it will be a collection of “action-packed sci-fi and fantasy stories” imagined from African perspectives.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Ramsay, who directed the animation film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, a spin-off featuring a Black Spider-Man, will serve as executive producer on the project.
Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston of Triggerfish will be the supervising producers and Triggerfish will be the lead studio for the anthology, working in collaboration with animation studios across the continent and globally.
Explaining the title, Nyeke said, “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. 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.”
The ten films will be 10 minutes long each and will be from filmmakers 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) and Lesego Vorster (South Africa).
The shortlisted projects were mentored by Ramsay, Triggerfish, and Disney.
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Michael Paull, President, Disney+ and ESPN+, and the Walt Disney Company, said, “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.”
Disney made a step towards inclusion in 2020 with Raya and the Last Dragon, which featured the first Southeast-Asian Disney Princess.
In April, Disney+ announced a collection of six live-action short films, called Launchpad, created by filmmakers from under-represented backgrounds. It is currently available on the OTT platform.