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 – Comics/Animation

Do You Know About the Afropolitan Comics Exhibition?

A play on the combination of the words, “Africa” and “cosmopolitan”, the Afropolitan Comics is an online-only exhibition that seeks to depart from the stereotypes about Africa and showcase the modernity and diversity that exists within the African continent.

The exhibition, which is Chapter 2 of  comic events initiated by the French Institute of South Africa in 2019, draws together comic authors from countries within Africa including Zimbabwe (represented by Bill Masuku), Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire.

The sixteen African artists work is showcased in the exhibition which is separated into three chapters titled Autobiography, Heroes and History, and Folklore and the Future. The Afropolitan Comics features work from Bill Masuku’s Captain South Africa, Daniel and James Clarke Kariba and Juni Ba’s Djeliya and other unique stories by talented artists.

Last Chance to View the Afropolitan Comics Exhibition

The exhibition has been on display since 2020 and will be coming down on July, 2021, so now is your last chance to take a look at this amazing display of African-inspired creativity.

Head over to the exhibition site here https://www.afropolitancomics.com/en

Check out more https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200804-africa-s-comic-artists-tell-powerful-stories-in-unique-online-exhibition

The Satchel – An Africa Tale About Earth’s Creation

Early this year, in January, Nigerian based animation studio, Creele Animation Studios debuted their very first animation short film titled, The Satchel.

Created in partnership with Taeps Animation Studios, The Satchel is a tale about Earth’s creation based on Yoruba mythology. The film is set thousands of years in the past, where two Yoruba gods Obtala and Oduduwa battle for the power to create the earth using a powerful Satchel.

Watch the short film here https://youtu.be/lNNHX1DaShI

With The Satchel, Creele Animation Studios seek to tell authentic African stories featuring characters and people of African descent whilst capturing the beauty of African, music culture lifestyle.

Check out more https://culturecustodian.com/the-satchel-offers-an-animated-interpretation-of-yoruba-mythology/

NEWS BEYOND AFRICA – Movies/Entertainment

Bitter Root

Set in the 1920s, against the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance, Bitter Root is a comic series that follows the story of a family of monster hunters, the Sangeryes. For years the Sangeryes have captured and cured Jinoo, humans overcome by hatred and prejudice and turned into monsters.

But, torn apart by tragedy and conflicting moral codes, the Sangeryes are no longer as great as they used to be. But a force of inconceivable evil is bent to destroy humanity and in order to stop it they must put aside their differences and save the human race, before it’s too late.

Created by David F. Walker (Marvel Comics’ Luke Cage, The Black Panther Party), Sanford Greene (Iron Fist) and Chuck Brown, Bitter Root is a powerful story that will soon be making its journey from the page to the screen.

Bitter Root is Becoming a Movie

It has been announced that the Sangeryes story will be becoming a movie, and Regina King is set to direct it.

The film will also be produced by Black Panther’s director, Ryan Coogler, with the comic’s creators David F. Walker, Sanford Greene, Chuck Brown and Bryan Edward Hill as scriptwriter.

No release date has been set as yet. But if the comic is anything to go by, viewers are in for quite an epic story once the movie comes out.

Find out more https://ew.com/movies/how-next-regina-king-film-bitter-root-connects-to-watchmen/