Movies, animation, comics, gaming and tech. Want to know what’s happening in Africa and beyond? Here’s the Run Down for this week.
NEWS OUT OF AFRICA – Animation/Comics
Aroba Uses Animation to Preserve African Stories
Aroba Animation is a West African animation that seeks to bring African stories to the world through 3D animation. Aroba means folklore in Yoruba, a fitting name for a company that takes pride in African stories, myths and legends.
Seeing a need to preserve African stories, the company started a project to do just that. The result was an Afrocentric 3D Superhero film titled Moremi.
The Epic Battle Begins in Moremi
On the 29th of April 2022, Aroba premiered their animated short film, Moremi: The Epic Battle. A folktale retelling of a 12th century Yoruba story, the short film tells the tale of a woman who sacrifices everything, even risking death, to save the people of ife-fe.
Watch the trailer https://youtu.be/3y1D-emYCk4
Aroba Animation took to Kickstarter to announce the premiere of the project and get funding to distribute and share the project.
Find on more Instagram @aroba_animation
Epoch Comics Share Epic Comics
Pan-African company, Epoch Comics are all about sharing unique African stories. A division of Nigerian based studio, Epoch Studio, the company has released over 20 comics that to just that.
Their latest comic is an epic tale called Aegis.
Join the Age Long Battle With Aegis
Aegis follows the story of Dede Philips who, after the death of his wife Angela, is thrown into conflict for information he acquired relating to the dark activities of the Lords, an elitist group of influential dwellers with a secret agenda to control the fate of the nations. Dede must now get to the root of the problem and discover his true self.
Epoch Comics has released Volume 1 with the First Issue of Volume 2, out now.
Check out more https://www.epochstudios.co/home
NEWS BEYOND AFRICA – Animation/Movies
Follow the Way of Water With the New Avatar
Over a decade after the release the iconic Avatar, 20th Century debuted the sequel Avatar: The Way of Water on 6 May, 2022.
Avatar: The Way of Water continues the story of the Sully Family, the battles they fight to stay alive, the tragedies they face and the lengths they go to keep each other safe.
Watch the teaser trailer https://youtu.be/a8Gx8wiNbs8
The film stars, Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet, Stephen Lan, Cliff Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Punder, Edie Falco and Jemaine Clement and is directed by James Cameron.
The film will make its way to theatres on 16 December 2022. Leading up to the sequel, Avatar will be re released in theatres on 23 September, 2022.
Find out more https://www.animationmagazine.net/features/return-to-pandora-with-new-avatar-the-way-of-the-water-teaser-stills/
Disney Get Ready To Dish Out New Series Cookies & Milk
Disney Television Animation currently has a new animated series in development.
Based on a debut novel of the same name by Shawn Amos, Cookies & Milk follows the adventures of harmonica playing Ellis Johnson and he sets out to help his divorced father achieve his wild dream of opening the world’s first chocolate chip cookie shop.
The story is set in 1970s, Hollywood California and is loosely based on Amos’s own experiences growing up as a son to Wally “Famous” Amos.
Amos expressed that he wrote this story to help his own son “understand his family, his culture and himself” and he hopes that “kids of all colours will see something of their own selves in Ellis.”
Cookies & Milk is executive produced by Laurence Fishburne (black-ish, The Matrix) and Helen Sugland of Cinema Gypsy Productions, Jesse James Films and Shawn Amos.
Find out more https://collider.com/cookies-and-milk-animated-series-adaptation-shawn-amos-disney/