Hi, Kwame. Congratulations on winning the award for Best Animation at the African Movie Awards! Can you tell us a bit about The Legend of Ngong Hills?
Yes. The film is based on a Maasai traditional folktale. The Legend of Ngong Hills is the creation story of a scenic mountain range on the outskirts of present- day Nairobi. The story is centered around the frightful ogre of the forest, who has a habit of attacking the nearby Maasai village. As the story goes, he falls in love with, and eventually gets trapped by a beautiful village girl.
When did you first become interested in African folktales?
As a child. I remember being told many stories by African storytellers, reading picture books, and watching films. I was especially taken with the famous West African character Anansi the Spider. Anansi is a fictional character who, in some stories, is human and can change into a spider or vice- versa. He's always described as a naughty character who pits his wits (斗智斗勇) against superior strength, usually with success. In many different versions of these tales, Anansi weaves his way in and out of trouble and teaches the audience life lessons. This really captured my imagination. From there, I became very interested in African and African Diaspora stories. These folktales tend to lend themselves perfectly to the medium of animation as they often have elements of fantasy like talking animals and magical powers.
Why do you think it is important to retell these folktales?
Folktales usually shed light on a moral dilemma in the form of metaphor. I think African folktales stand out because they blend creation stories with a moral lesson. I find that African tales use different degrees of humor to help these lessons be received more easily. As times are changing in Africa diaspora, the traditional culture of the elders telling stories to the youth is disappearing. I feel it is important to preserve and improve these stories and culture through this media of film and animation.
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Finally, ____?
I look forward to creating a feature length African period or fantasy piece. The history of Africa is so rich and intricate yet very, very little is known of it, and film is such a powerful way to tell these stories.
Thank you very much for speaking with us today, Kwame.
Thanks a lot for your interest in my story and what is happening in Africa in terms of animation.