A look at the Netflix African Folktales short films premiere at the Kalasha Film Festival

Netflix recently launched the African Folktales Anthology at the Kalasha Film Festival held in Nairobi, Kenya with a glamorous event that attracted industry talents across sub-Saharan Africa. The project which was initiated in partnership with UNESCO brought together a new generation of storytellers to reimagine and retell tales as old as time from across the African continent.

Six storytellers from Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritania, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were selected from a rigorous application process and provided with a $90,000 budget each and creative guidance by established filmmakers as mentors to produce their short films.

A look at the Netflix African Folktales short films premiere at the Kalasha Film Festival | See Photos Pulse Nigeria

In the short films, the young talents have reworked traditional African tales for modern local and global audiences. Korede Azeez’s Zabin Halima (Halima’s Choice) tells the tale of a young girl from a secluded Fulani village who inadvertently elopes with a man who turns out to be an AI to escape an arranged marriage.

A look at the Netflix African Folktales short films premiere at the Kalasha Film Festival | See Photos Pulse Nigeria

Walt Mzengi Corey’s short film from Tanzania titled Katope is about a young child with magical origins who set out on a journey to help end the drought that is devastating the community at the risk of their own life. The winner from Kenya is Voline Ogutu whose short film titled Anyango and the Ogre traces a childhood folktale, of a 13-year-old Otis who struggles to protect his younger siblings from a monster that lives inside their home.

A look at the Netflix African Folktales short films premiere at the Kalasha Film Festival | See Photos Pulse Nigeria

Loukman Ali’s (Uganda) Katera of the Punishment Island follows the tale of a woman grieving the loss of her baby who exacts revenge on the powerful man who abandoned her on the island. Gcobisa Yako’s (South Africa) MaMlambo is an eponymous short film of a mystical river being who watches over the sacred waters of discarded bodies.

Enmity Djinn by Mohamed Echkouna from Mauritania is about an ancient eponymous character who finds himself in an unfamiliar city confronted by a familiar foe three generations after he was last summoned. With this reimagination of folktales, some of Africa’s historic folklore teaching morals and cultural values are preserved for time to come.

Netflix believes that great stories can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere. The initiative is also a testament to Netflix’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the pipeline of African storytelling and to include voices of young talents especially from underrepresented communities.

See more pictures from the premiere below: