Based on science fiction and fantasy, fourteen African filmmakers show their talent in the series “Kizazi Moto: generation fire”. An optimistic projection carried by young protagonists, modern and full of resources.
As the title of the series announces Kizazi Moto: Fire Generation”, the ten young heroines and heroes that can be discovered in each episode from July 5 on the Disney + platform, are often fiery. Like that of the Ugandan filmmaker Raymond Malinga who signs the first episode, The young herdsman, portrait of a teenager in a hurry to enter the big leagues.
The journey is often strewn with pitfalls like any initiatory journey, a red thread theme of the series of short films mixing science fiction and fantasy which illustrate the talent, in the field of animation, of directors from the African continent. Six countries (South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe) are represented by the 14 filmmakers involved in this production.
A projection of news from the African continent
In an interview with South African radio 702, Tendayi Nyeke, who produced the anthology alongside Peter Ramsey – Oscar-winning co-director of Spider-Man: Next Generation – and Anthony Silverston, recalls the idea that guided the filmmakers for their first work: imagining a “optimistic future” for their continent. Thus inspired by their native lands – culture, scenery, beliefs, economic and socio-political issues, aspirations of youth – they put it into images. These, colorful, are full of subtle references that should delight those familiar with the African countries where these unique and universal stories take place.
The quest for the heroine Stardust of the Egyptian Ahmed Teilab, a stable girl curious to know her destiny, echoes for example that of Sheba launched to conquer her digital totem in Adulthood, here I come! of the South African from Tshepo Moche (South Africa). Another recurring theme is the preponderance of the maternal figure. The subject is brought to its climax in Enkai by the Kenyan Ng’endo Mukii who signs a beautiful metaphor around a land plundered by mining regenerating itself thanks to the foster mother.
Allegory of a conscious and dynamic youth
The subject is just as political when the hero of Mukudzei directed by the duo from Zimbabwe, formed by Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove, plunges into a parallel universe where Zimbabweans have never been colonized. In this short film, it is also about the omnipotence of social networks to which give me a heart by South African Lesego Vorster echoes a futuristic fable. The future in which all these stories are set is fabulously drawn. The colors, often shimmering, come to give breadth to the story as in Moremi by Nigerian Shofela Coker where precisely the pale tones are part of the narration. Not to mention the overflowing imagination that was put into the creation of everyday objects, the environment and the incredible look of the characters carried by the voices of celebrities on the continent such as actresses Peal Tussi (South Africa) and Kehinde Bankolé ( Nigeria).
“There is so much talent on the continent, so many extraordinary artists waiting to have an international audience”insisted Tendayi Nyeke on the antennas of radio 702.“What African artists have to say right now, I think is something totally fresh and new, something the world really needs to hear,” underlined for his part the American director Peter Ramsey who served as a mentor to this young generation of African filmmakers. They, who in a certain way, seem to have the same qualities as the young girls and young boys they portray in their works. The tone is pragmatic but always punchy, even apart from the action scenes on which the series does not skimp.
“Kizazi Moto: Fire Generation” is a series of 10 animated shorts:
The young herdsman by Raymond Malinga (Uganda)
Moremi by Shofela Coker (Nigeria)
Surf Sangoma by Nthato Mokgata and Catherine Green (South Africa)
Enkai by Ng’endo Mukii (Kenya)
Mkhuzi : the racing spirit of Simangaliso “Panda” Sibaya and Malcolm Wopé (South Africa)
give me a heart by Lesego Vorster (South Africa)
Mukudzei by Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove (Zimbabwe)
Stardust by Ahmed Teilab (Egypt)
Adulthood, here I come! of Tshepo Moche (South Africa)
Hatima by Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane (South Africa)