A whirlwind trip to 2050 where radioactive octopi are used by criminal gangs, and a visit to a society where wannabe gods try to ascend by winning a talent show, are just two of the Afro-futuristic tales from the forthcoming Disney+ series “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.” The animated anthology of 10 sci-fi and fantasy short films will premiere on the streaming platform next week.
It’s not only the episodes making leaps and bounds into the future – there’s also a new generation of African filmmakers who are taking to the small screen. Fourteen up-and-coming directors are at the helm of the anthology, hailing from Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt.
Backing the series is American executive producer Peter Ramsey, best known for co-directing the Oscar-winning film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” as well as Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston from Cape Town-based Triggerfish, one of Africa’s leading animation studios.
“I really want people to come away with the idea that Africa really is as much part of pop culture as America or Europe or anywhere else,” Ramsey told CNN in a video call.
In 2019, as animators and filmmakers all over Africa flocked to the Cape Town Animation Festival, Ramsey was in attendance and witnessed a huge explosion of energy and optimism that had a profound, lasting effect on him.
“I felt a feeling that I’ve kind of seldom felt in my life,” he said. “There was a real coalescing of talent, and it felt like the time was right for this particular set of voices to be unleashed on the world.”
A year later he was contacted by Triggerfish, the driving force behind “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire,” about its anthology idea which had Disney+ support.
It just so happened that a lot of the people who had been at that festival became the filmmakers for the series.
“It all felt like a perfect storm, a real moment that has blossomed into what everybody else in the world is going to see when this drops in July,” said Ramsey.
“I know what a big difference it’s going to make to a lot of young people [in Africa] who wouldn’t ordinarily choose a career in the arts,” he added.
An animated African anthology
Among the 10 films is “You Give Me Heart,” directed by South African filmmaker Lesego Vorster, a short that takes influencers to a divine level.
Set in an absurd world where gods get powers from social media “adoration,” struggling artist Sundiata joins a talent competition called “Who Wants To Be A God?” in a desperate attempt to impress the most popular deity of all, Maadi, the Goddess of Plenty.
At its core, it is a story that explores society’s superficial relationship with online and offline identities. “Wake up and smell the flowers,” said Vorster about the short film’s message. “Just put the phone down.”
Another short from the anthology is called “Hatima,” co-directed by South African filmmakers Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane.
In it, an underwater tribe battles a land-based kingdom, and caught in the middle is Mati, a young water-tribe warrior, and Nhela, the land kingdom’s princess. Their stories collide and challenge their people’s deepest beliefs.
“There’s this idea of shared humanity, but [in] the world right now there is a lot of tension,” Mogajane told CNN. “Part of it is social media, there’s a lot of stoking up of tribes and fighting based on where you are. At some point you forget that we are all one tribe.”
Mogajane views all the shorts in “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” as fundamentally human stories that spark an important conversation.
“There’s very few people, wherever they come from, that can say they were part of the generation that defined this type of cinema or this type of animation,” he said. “We just happened to have been born at that time that allowed us to be that for our continent.”
“We are just the beginning,” he added. “‘Kizazi Moto’ and these 14 directors will be part of that narrative.”
Ramsey agrees that the talent behind the series are ready to say something fresh and meaningful that will give the world a new perspective on the continent.
“There are a lot of kids and young people in Africa, all across the continent, who are going to be able to look at this and see that it can be done,” he said.
“Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” will premiere on Disney+ on July 5, 2023.
