Disney just announced a new ten part anthology series, coming to Disney+ in 2022.
The series titled Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, is a 10-part series of animated films that hopes to take viewers “on a wildly entertaining ride into Africa’s future.”
Filmmakers from Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt all come together to bring the series to life. Peter Ramsey, co-director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, serves as executive producer for the anthology, which is comprised of sci-fi and fantasy stories set in a futuristic Africa. Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston as supervising producers. Triggerfish will be the lead studio for the anthology, working in collaboration with animation studios across the continent and globally.
“I’m really pleased to part of a ground-breaking, 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,” Ramsey revealed in a statement. “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. 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!’”
According to Disney, the films are inspired by Africa’s histories and cultures. They also promise “action-packed sci-fi and fantasy stories that present bold visions of advanced technology, aliens, spirits and monsters imagined from uniquely African perspectives.”
“Kizazi Moto is derived from the Swahili phrase ‘kizazi cha moto’. “It means ‘fire generation,’ capturing the passion, innovation, and excitement this new cohort of African filmmakers are ready to bring to the world.” Tendayi Nyeke said.
“We are bringing the work of a visionary new generation of African filmmakers to Disney+. 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 the leading global talent to tell the stories of the world from fresh and authentic points of view.” Michael Paull, President, Disney+ and ESPN+ also added.
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Here are the selected films
Stardust (Ahmed Teilab – Egypt)
After receiving a blank scroll of destiny from the Oracle during her coming-of-age ceremony, Nawara, a rebellious stable girl, sets off on a perilous journey to track him down, and demand the kind of future she knows she deserves.
Mkhuzi: The Masked Racer (Simangaliso ‘Panda’ Sibaya and Malcolm Wope – South Africa)
Manzo is a half-human, half-alien boy who must defeat the galaxy’s greatest—and craziest—racers in the Soweto Grand Prix to save his neighborhood from destruction.
Surf Sangoma (Nthato Mokgata and Terence Neale – South Africa)
Future Durban is surrounded by a monumental wall to protect the city from colossal waves too deadly to surf, but best friends Njabulo and Mqobi dream of returning to the ocean.
Hatima (Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane – South Africa)
In a future Africa, tribes living on land and beneath the sea fight a constant war for Hatima, a powerful natural resource that causes cellular regeneration and also allows humans to survive beneath the waves.
Enkai (Ng’endo Mukii – Kenya)
Enkai is just a little girl trying to keep her working single mother’s attention, but her mom’s job is more all-consuming than most: she’s a cosmic deity trying to save our planet.
Moremi (Shofela Coker – Nigeria)
A sci-fi riff on a Yoruba myth, this story follows Luo, a spirit boy lost in the realm of the gods, and Moremi, his scientist mother, who is trying to return him to the land of the living.
Mukudzei, aka Adventures of Muku (created by Pious Nyenyewa & written by Tafadzwa Hove – Zimbabwe)
After disrespecting a sacred monument, rebellious wannabe-influencer Muku is flung by the spirits into an alternate, utopian and futuristic Zimbabwe that was never colonized.
First Totem Problems (Tshepo Moche – South Africa)
Teenage Sheba is coming of age and determined to receive her digital totem, even if it means taking down the whole ancestral technocracy whilst trying to end an ancient feud.
Herderboy (Raymond Malinga – Uganda)
Determined to prove himself, an unlikely young hero must singlehandedly protect his tribe’s precious herd of cyborg cattle from a deadly spirit monster that threatens their whole way of life.
You Give Me Heart (Lesego Vorster – South Africa)
In the next millennium, when the gods are only as powerful as their social media following, a human nobody strikes up an impossible romance with the most adored goddess of them all.
