News

Netflix partners with UNESCO to reimagine African folktales

Luis Monzon

20th March 2023

Streaming giant Netflix will showcase six African filmmakers and their short films as part of the series African Folktales, Reimagined.
The series comes after a partnership with UNESCO, where each of the filmmakers received a $90 000 budget as well as support from Netflix and industry mentors.
Ancient folktales from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Mauritania will be retold for a modern audience and streamed worldwide by Netflix.

A partnership between streaming giant Netflix and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will see some of the oldest and most famous myths and legends of the African continent retold in a series of six short films.

“African Folktales, Reimagined” will see the tales reimagined by and for a new generation of Africans, streaming on Netflix on 29th March 2023.

Netflix’ partners with UNESCO to support the producers of the six short films with $90 000 in budgets, as well as creative guidance by established filmmakers in order to bring the folktales to life.

Each storyteller was partnered with a local production company and took advantage of the guidance of Netflix-appointed supervising producer, Steven Markovitz from Big World Cinema and other industry mentors during their respective production processes.

The emerging filmmakers were selected in 2021 following a call for submission that resulted in over 2 000 applications from 13 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region. The six emerging storytellers from Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritania, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will see their respective short films showcased on Netflix audiences around the world.

“We are excited to finally bring this anthology of short films created by the next generation of African storytellers to Netflix members around the world,” shared Tendeka Matatu, Netflix’s director of film in Africa, in a press release sent to Hypertext.

“This initiative is a testament to our ongoing efforts to strengthen the pipeline of African storytelling and to include voices from underrepresented communities. We’re grateful to our partners at UNESCO who walked this journey with us to provide an opportunity for the six emerging African filmmakers to create and showcase their reimagined folktales to the world, in their own languages, so that more people can see their lives reflected on screen.”

The African Folktales, Reimagined short film collection features a variety of African on-screen talent in stories by African filmmakers such as Mohamed Echkouna from Mauritania with Enmity Djinn; Walt Mzengi Corey from Tanzania with Katope; Korede Azeez from Nigeria with Zabin Halima (Halima’s Choice); Voline Ogutu from Kenya with Anyango and the Ogre; Loukman Ali from Uganda with Katera of the Punishment Island and Gcobisa Yako from South Africa with MaMlambo.

The six reimagined folktale short films include:

“Zabin Halima (Halima’s Choice) – by Korede Azeez – Nigeria. With 99% of the world population uploaded into virtual worlds, a young girl from a secluded Fulani village inadvertently elopes with an AI to escape an arranged marriage.

Anyango and the Ogre – by Voline Ogutu – Kenya. With the backdrop of a childhood folktale, 13-year-old Otis struggles to protect his younger siblings from a monster that lives inside their home.

Katera of the Punishment Island – by Loukman Ali – Uganda. Abandoned on an island, a woman grieving the loss of her baby exacts revenge on the powerful man who put her there.

Katope – by Walt Mzengi Corey – Tanzania. A young child with magical origins sets out on a journey to help end the drought that is devastating the community – even if it means risking their own life.

Enmity Djinn – by Mohamed Echkouna – Mauritania. Three generations after he was last summoned, an ancient Enmity Djinn finds himself in an unfamiliar city confronted by a familiar foe.