By Charles Mgbolu
Three young Africans are getting global accolades for their roles in a new animated series now streaming on the American video streaming platform, Disney Studios.
Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku, Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, and Hamid Ibrahim, three friends from Nigeria and Uganda, run Kugali, a pan-African entertainment company that Disney has partnered with.
The trio worked to create a six-part animated series titled Iwaju, set in a sci-fi version of Lagos, Nigeria, which tells the adventures of a young girl who works to expose a gang boss and his kidnapping syndicate.
The afrofuturistic themes seen in the scenes show the bustling Nigerian city in a new light, with flying cars wheezing in and out of computerised buildings, and robots as pets.
Adeola, who wrote the screenplay, says setting African stories in an AI world is undoubtedly the future for African story-telling.
‘’With the world seeing the fast growth of artificial intelligence, we need filmmakers and animators to embrace our own authenticity, which makes us unique and different as Africans. That is what would make the world recognise us in the new technological world order,’’ Adeola tells TRT Afrika.
Afrofuturism is experiencing a resurgence with the thirst for new perspectives on African stories. The success of Hollywood blockbusters such as Black Panther has further popularised the theme.
Adeola, joined by his childhood friends Tolu Olowofoyeku and Hamid Ibrahim, say their goal is to create a platform that provides millions of fans with stories inspired by African culture using animation, art, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
‘’The key thing is to up the quality. When authenticity collides with high quality story-telling, magical things happen, and I think it is the beginning of something beautiful for animation in Africa,’’ he adds.
Quality is crucial, as the young filmmakers had to work with an uncommon narrative theme: afrofuturism, which is a cultural aesthetic that combines science fiction, history, and fantasy to explore the African experience.
Experts say it aimed to connect those from the black diaspora with their forgotten African ancestry.
Adeola says it was crucial to spin this Afrofuturistic attribute to further accentuate the uniqueness of the African child, who is portrayed in the series as a brilliant 10 year old girl.
‘’The portrayal of African characters in the media is often explored by non-Africans or centred on negative themes. One of the good things we have about the characters is their resourcefulness and ingenuity.
‘’I wanted to show that talent is not limited to your social-economic background, I think people will watch this and realise that we have our own ingenuity, we add beauty to our culture, and we have our own complexities.’’
Nigeria's culture minister, Hannatu Musawa, praised the show at its premiere in Lagos, saying: "This is huge for Nigeria because at last we now have our own stories being told from our own perspective."
The six-part series features Nigerian Pidgin, a mix of English and local languages, and all characters are voiced by actors from the West African country.
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