“What does Kizazi Moto mean,” asked an attendee during the Q&A portion of an Annecy Festival preview for the upcoming Disney+ short series, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire. The translation is actually in the show’s subtitle, a Swahili phrase that means “the fire generation.” With ten shorts releasing July 5th on Disney+, the series is a collection of afro-future stories from rising creatives from six countries. At Annecy, attendees were the first to see three full shorts, plus clips from the other seven episodes.
Art card given to attendees at the Annecy Festival "Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire" panel.
Leading the presentation was Orion Ross, VP of Animation for Disney EMEA. A collaboration with South African studio Triggerfish (Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes, "Aau's Song" from Star Wars: Visions), Orion was joined by Triggerfish executive producers Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston, alongside Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse executive producer Peter Ramsey. The presentation began with an overview of the series’ origins. It was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that first brought Peter Ramsay to South Africa for the Cape Town International Animation Festival. So when he heard about this opportunity shortly after, he jumped at the chance to join the project. Tendayi and Anthony were busy in 2020, inviting seventy-three creatives to pitch their concepts. Thirty-three were shortlisted, fifteen were put into development, and of those, ten were chosen to move into production. With many of the artists behind the projects making their animation directorial debut with the series, many of them have paired up to get a total of fourteen directors through the ten episodes.
Tendayi, Anthony, and Peter gave brief overviews of seven shorts, sharing some interesting facts about each. The whistle you’ll hear in “Herderboy” was inspired by an actual cattle call in Uganda. The neighborhood setting of “Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer” was inspired by the streets that director Simangaliso ‘Panda’ Sibaya grew up on in Soweto, South Africa. “First Totem Problems” comes from Egypt and is the directorial debut of Tshepo, who has been writing and producing TV up until now. “Mukudzei” follows a teenager who faces consequences after vandalizing a historical monument, one that actually exists in Zimbabwe. Director Pious Nyenyewa also provides the voice of the short’s title character and was heavily inspired by Blade Runner. “Hatima” is the end result of two separate projects pitched by directors Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane, who the producers paired. “Stardust” is a collaboration with Egypt-based studio Giraffix. And for “You Give Me Heart,” Tendaya shared that all but one of the shorts had their sound design and score created within Africa.
The first of the three shorts presented in full was “Moremi” by Nigerian director Shofela Coker. The story is inspired by the legend of Queen Morebi of Ife, who sacrificed her only son to the gods to save her people. Being unfamiliar with that story, I found it a little hard to follow, but it makes more sense in retrospect. It plays almost like a sequel, with a boy named Luo living in the realm of gods and being hunted by spirits. A chargeable device seems to give him energy, and when it runs low, he is rescued by a scientist named Moremi, who takes him back to her lab to be revived. It’s there that Luo learns about his savior’s past.
Next up was “Surf Sangoma” from South African duo Nthato “Spoek Mathambo” Mokgata and Catherine Green. It’s set in Durban in 2050 when climate change has caused sea levels to rise so high that the coastal city is protected from flooding by a huge wall. It follows two boys who love to surf, a deadly hobby, and one only engaged in by a frightening gang that uses genetic modification to survive the crashing waves. It was interesting to learn that both directors are known more for working in live-action and music videos. Tendaya also revealed that one of the boys, Njabulo, is actually voiced by a woman who auditioned for a different part.
Closing out the program was “Enkai” from Kenya-based Ng’endo Muki. Blink Industries actually animated this short in London and uses a blend of CG, 2D, and stop-motion animation. The short follows the daughter of a deity who is wearing herself thin, trying to protect Earth from mankind’s destruction. So young Enkai searches for a way to revive her mother’s energy from home.
The Annecy Festival audience cheered for each clip and short. During the Q&A, Orion Ross was asked about the future of the series. The short answer was he, and Triggerfish would love to order another season of shorts. But like all things in entertainment, that depends on this first release being a success.
All ten episodes of Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire debut worldwide on January 5th on Disney+.