“Iwájú,” Disney Animation’s sci-fi long-form series about a futuristic Lagos (currently streaming on Disney+ and coming to The Disney Channel April 22), is a far cry from such culturally diverse features as “Moana,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” and “Encanto.” This is a Nigerian series — Disney’s first-ever outside collaboration of this kind — told from the Black team at Kugali Media, the U.K.-based Pan-African media company, voiced by Nigerian actors, and with a score from Nigerian composer Ré Olunuga.
“Iwájú” (which loosely means “the future” in Yoruba) began as a Kugali comic book anthology. Kugali co-founders Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, Hamid Ibrahim, and Tolu Olowofoyeku let it be known in an interview they had their sights set on animation and were determined to “kick Disney’s arse in Africa.” This came to the attention of Disney Animation’s chief creative officer, Jennifer Lee, who was so impressed with the...
“Iwájú” (which loosely means “the future” in Yoruba) began as a Kugali comic book anthology. Kugali co-founders Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, Hamid Ibrahim, and Tolu Olowofoyeku let it be known in an interview they had their sights set on animation and were determined to “kick Disney’s arse in Africa.” This came to the attention of Disney Animation’s chief creative officer, Jennifer Lee, who was so impressed with the...
- 3/4/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Disney and Kugali are bringing something special with their new series ‘Iwájú’, set to hit Disney+ on February 28. It’s a fresh story set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria. We follow Tola, voiced by Simisola Gbadamosi, and her tech-savvy friend Kole, brought to life by Siji Soetan. They’re diving into secrets and challenges, showing us the rich contrasts of their world.
The people behind ‘Iwájú’ are just as interesting. Olufikayo Ziki Adeola is directing, with Hamid Ibrahim designing the production and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku adding cultural insights. Their combined efforts promise a series full of unique visuals and a deep connection to Lagos’ spirit.
Now, let’s talk tunes. The series’ music is coming from Ré Olunuga, a big name who’s worked on projects like the Disney+ movie ‘Rise’. He’s all about getting into the characters’ feelings and has a big love for Lagos, which shines through in the music.
The people behind ‘Iwájú’ are just as interesting. Olufikayo Ziki Adeola is directing, with Hamid Ibrahim designing the production and Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku adding cultural insights. Their combined efforts promise a series full of unique visuals and a deep connection to Lagos’ spirit.
Now, let’s talk tunes. The series’ music is coming from Ré Olunuga, a big name who’s worked on projects like the Disney+ movie ‘Rise’. He’s all about getting into the characters’ feelings and has a big love for Lagos, which shines through in the music.
- 2/13/2024
- by Hrvoje Milakovic
- Fiction Horizon
It’s five years since Theresa May, then the United Kingdom’s first prime minister of the Brexit era, coined the term “citizen of nowhere” to denigrate residents of the country who identified themselves more globally. Those three words swiftly became a media catchphrase to encapsulate the Conservative government’s apparent hostility toward immigrants; liberal-minded multinationals adopted the term as a badge of pride. Yet for the disenfranchised émigré who can’t go home again, but hasn’t found home in the U.K. either, it’s not such an easy label to claim: Transplanted to working-class Glasgow from West Africa, shorn of any sense of belonging anywhere, the wary, vulnerable mother and daughter at the heart of Adura Onashile’s tender character study “Girl” respond by making their world as small as possible — barely stretching beyond the front door of their shabby council apartment.
The gradual, pained steps they...
The gradual, pained steps they...
- 1/28/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Premiering in the World Dramatic Competition, Adura Onashile’s debut feature Girl takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, but, given its themes of identity and belonging, this tender story of a refugee mother and daughter might as well be happening anywhere. Though the production values are exceptional for a low-budget British movie, there is also the sense that, by leaning into her restrictions, Onashile has found an interesting way to tell her story, taking us into the claustrophobic, fishbowl lives of these two loners so that it is the outside world that seems strange and ‘other’ to us whenever we are faced with it.
The mother, Grace (Déborah Lukumuena), is in her mid-’20s, and she is devoted to her 11-year-old daughter Ama (Le’Shantey Bonsu). Their backstory is never fully explained, just that the two only have each other and don’t wish for anything else other than some sort of...
The mother, Grace (Déborah Lukumuena), is in her mid-’20s, and she is devoted to her 11-year-old daughter Ama (Le’Shantey Bonsu). Their backstory is never fully explained, just that the two only have each other and don’t wish for anything else other than some sort of...
- 1/23/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The same piercing intimacy and absence of sentimentality that Singaporean director Anthony Chen brought to the beautifully observed Ilo Ilo — winner of Cannes’ 2013 Camera d’Or for best first feature — makes affecting drama of a displaced West African woman’s struggle to survive in the wake of unimaginable tragedy in Drift. Carried by Cynthia Erivo’s haunted performance as a refugee jolted into total retreat from the world on a Greek island, this sensitive character study also allows for cracks of light as she slowly reopens herself to the possibility of bonding with a lonely American tour guide played by Alia Shawkat.
Adapted from Alexander Maksik’s 2013 novel A Marker to Measure Drift by the author and Susanne Farrell, the film opens with the eloquent image of footprints in the sand being slowly washed away at a shoreline. They belong to Jacqueline (Erivo), about whom we initially know nothing beyond...
Adapted from Alexander Maksik’s 2013 novel A Marker to Measure Drift by the author and Susanne Farrell, the film opens with the eloquent image of footprints in the sand being slowly washed away at a shoreline. They belong to Jacqueline (Erivo), about whom we initially know nothing beyond...
- 1/22/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Composer Ré Olunuga had a complicated dance with his first major studio film, "Rise." The drama, which tells the true story of the Antetokounmpo family, is an ensemble film spanning many years, visits different counties, and has an ending anyone vaguely familiar with the NBA already knows. For anyone not remotely familiar with professional basketball, Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex Antetokounmpo are NBA stars. They are the first trio of brothers to win the championship in NBA history.
It was the brothers' loving parents, Charles (Dayo Okeniyi) and Vera (Yetide Badaki), who helped instill such a powerful drive in the athletes. It was a drive, a rhythm that Olunuga wanted...
The post Rise Composer Ré Olunuga Wants to Convey the Truth [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
It was the brothers' loving parents, Charles (Dayo Okeniyi) and Vera (Yetide Badaki), who helped instill such a powerful drive in the athletes. It was a drive, a rhythm that Olunuga wanted...
The post Rise Composer Ré Olunuga Wants to Convey the Truth [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 6/24/2022
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
Rise Trailer — Akin Omotoso‘s Rise (2022) movie trailer has been released by Disney+. The Rise trailer stars Dayo Okeniyi, Yetide Badaki, Uche Agada, Ral Agada, and Jaden Osimuwa. Crew Arash Amel wrote the screenplay for Rise. Ré Olunuga created the music for the film. Kabelo Thathe crafted the cinematography for the film. Rise Poster Rise Movie [...]
Continue reading: Rise (2022) Movie Trailer: The Antetokounmpo Brothers Chase Their NBA Dreams in Akin Omotoso’s Disney Film...
Continue reading: Rise (2022) Movie Trailer: The Antetokounmpo Brothers Chase Their NBA Dreams in Akin Omotoso’s Disney Film...
- 5/11/2022
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
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