A Ugandan professional animator named Hamid Ibrahim is collaborating with two Nigerian writers (Ziki Nelson and Tolu Foyeh) to document African stories through their company called Kugali Media.
The trio is based in London.
Founded in 2017, Kugali Media has already written and produced comic content based on folk stories from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya.
These stories are told in books and animations. They’ve also leveraged the latest technologies like Augmented Reality, XR, AR, 3D to create material that’s attracted both the young and old audiences.
In a recent interview with BBC TV, the trio told the British broadcaster that they’re “going to kick Disney’s ass in Africa!”
"We're going to kick Disney's ass in Africa!"
Fed up of non-Africans telling African stories, three friends from Nigeria and Uganda decided to create @Kugalimedia, their own comic book anthology. pic.twitter.com/rQSrb68cvd
— BBC Stories (@bbcstories) January 11, 2019
Recently, Kugali Media released a 200-paged Pan-African comic anthology featuring content from fifteen writers from across Africa.
164-208 pages, 3 or 4 comics per book, 20+ creators across multiple African nations & the diaspora. An all-ages collection and a collection for mature audiences. The best collection of African comics money can buy! Order at https://t.co/hT2eRYJwuE. We have digital versions too pic.twitter.com/l85m9XH8ZH
— KugaliMedia (@Kugalimedia) January 17, 2019
Speaking to BBC, Ziki Nelson said that for the past several years, science fiction genre has not given enough space to black actors, which sort of came across as if there were no blacks in the future.
At Kugali Media, they want to ensure that Africa is also represented in futuristic storytelling.
Their books and videos are available on their website and the video below explains how you can get their content.
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The group has ventured into the industry when African-based storytelling is increasingly attracting global attention.
In 2018, we saw a Ugandan author named Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi win Shs600 million Windham-Campbell Prize for her book Kintu.
In Kintu, Makumbi combines Ugandan folklore and mythology with biblical legends to deliver an astounding story.
Wakanda, a Marvel Comics-produced motion picture about a fictional Sub-Saharan Africa country, also garnered massive reception in 2018.
Kugali Media has already raised US$25000 through crowdfunding from across the globe.
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