Disney Animation makes first-of-its-kind Collaboration with Pan-African Entertainment Company for their Comic Book Series, Iwájú
To maintain the originality of African stories, three creatives from Nigeria and Uganda, who are also friends; Tolu Olowofoyeku, Hamid Ibrahim and Ziki Nelson created Kugali Media in 2017 to tell African stories within and out of the continent. Through Kugali Media, the group created a comic book collection called Iwájú, set in futuristic Lagos, Nigeria.
Iwájú, which translates to “the future” in the Yoruba language, spoken majorly in the western part of Nigeria is now a new TV series selected by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Disney and Kugali Media will team up to create an all-new, science fiction series to premiere on DisneyPlus streaming platform in 2022.
Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation Studios, Jennifer Lee disclosed that the animated series will explore themes of class, innocence and challenging the status quo. Jennifer Lee further added that the founding group displayed such mind-blowing talents. Iwájú caught Disney’s attention after an article from BBC highlighted “the Pan-African comic book hoping to ‘kick Disney’s arse.”
Ziki Nelson, one of the co-founders disclosed that Iwájú represents a personal childhood dream to tell the Nigerian story. The group will continue to tell stories inspired by the African culture, using books, art and augmented reality. The story was written by Fikayo Adeola.
Get to know the talented Kugali Media co-founders below
Ziki Nelson
Ziki Nelson, alongside his team, founded Kigali Media to provide millions of fans with stories from the African culture, using animation, art, virtual and augmented reality. He is currently the Managing Director of Kugali. Prior to co-founding Kugali, Ziki worked as a writer with Guardian Newspaper in Nigeria. He is a Storyteller at heart and an entrepreneur. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Sheffield and holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing: Film and Theatre from City, University London.
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Tolu Olowofoyeku
Tolu Olowofoyeku is the Creative Team Lead at Kugali Media. He is also a programmer, a Lead Game Designer, and a Software Developer. Tolu holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Ibadan.
Hamid Ibrahim
Hamid Ibrahim is a Computer Graphics Generalist with a strong background in character modelling and character rigging. He was previously the Rigging Technical Director at MPC and Rigger at Electric Theatre Collective. Hamid is an alumnus of the University of Hertfordshire.
The comic book artists are on a mission to bring African stories created by African artists to the world by highlighting the diversity of cultures, histories and voices across the continent.