Nappy Nation Media presents Ase, an African historical fantasy short film and TV series concept. Shot on location in Nigeria, it is “set in the ancient West African kingdom of Oyo, and is about three ordinary teens on a seemingly ordinary day who have a not-so-ordinary supernatural encounter with a dark and evil spirit known as Elemoso.
This short film is a brief introduction to the concept for a one-hour epic television series we are developing based on the same setting and primary characters. Artists from all over Nigeria and America united to bring this story to life, in celebration of the beauty, complexity, and history of African people.”
Take a look at the behind the scenes interview:
I wish I had posted about this earlier since the crowdfund ends Monday, but here it is.
Indiegogo crowdfund for The Icarus Film Project: written and directed by Perivi Katjavivi, the film, which is Namibia’s first crowdfunded movie, is a feature length contemporary African take on the ancient Greek myth of Icarus.
“We follow a boy in a Namibian village who dreams of flying…As a little boy growing up in the village, Dantago stared up at the sky wondering whether he might emulate the planes he saw flying overhead. A decade later his ambition has steered him to the big city, where he finds himself descending into the underworld. With flight school proving to be a lofty conquest and survival an everyday struggle, a lucrative heist presents itself and offers the potential to help him soar upward or fall even deeper…Our Icarus lives in a place where identity and home are unclear. Caught between impossible dreams, a crime ridden city, the village and the world — our protagonist dances on the periphery of these conflicting realms. This intersection is his home.
We all have dreams and our protagonist, Dantago, is no different. Think of that child we all have inside us. The ambition and naivety that comes with youth and which led young Icarus to soar higher and higher and closer to the sun. So many young African boys and girls grow up in marginalized communities, yet difficult circumstance does not prevent them from having high hopes for their futures.
We intend to show that the hero in our film takes those hopes and aspirations of an entire continent and acts out his dreams and soars with them. Of course our film is riddled with obstacles and arrogance that echo the perils warned of in the original Greek myth.
Our hero will have to confront his own character flaws and contend with a dangerous underworld he has fallen into that may represent the last viable means to an end or the very thing that could threaten his dream.”
Sherese Francis: Futuristically Ancient 