Singapore’s August Media Group has boarded upcoming animated feature film “Malika: Warrior Queen” from U.S.-based Nigerian author and director Roye Okupe, creator of hit animated superhero series “Iyanu.”
August Media – which produce “George of the Jungle” and Netflix’s “Dino Girl Gauko,” among other top kids animation titles – have agreed to finance up to a third of the production and marketing costs of the anime-inspired “Malika” that reimagines 15th century West Africa through the rhythm of Afrobeats.
The prominent Southeast Asian group will also oversee the animation production for “Malika” with a team of studios and artists from across Asia “who will bring Okupe’s Afro-Anime visual storytelling to life,” according to a joint statement.
“Malika: Warrior Queen” is an adaptation of the eponymous graphic novel by Roye Okupe about the Queen and military commander, Malika “who struggles to keep the peace in her ever-expanding empire,”as the film’s synopsis puts it. “Growing up as a prodigy, Malika inherited the crown from her father in the most unusual of circumstances, splitting the Kingdom of Azzaz in half. After years of civil war, Malika was able to unite all of Azzaz, expanding it into one of the largest empires in all of West Africa,” it says.
The feature which is set to mark Okupe’s leap into big screen fare is being produced by Okupe’s YouNeek Studios in partnership with former Dreamworks executive Doug Schwalbe and other partners, with August Media now boarding as co-producer.
Okupe’s “Iyanu,” which is set in a world rooted in Nigerian mythology, ranks as the No. 1 series among kids 2-12 on Cartoon Network and is a top 10 kids and family series on HBO Max. Produced by Lion Forge Entertainment and adapted from Okupe’s graphic novels, it is also the top kids’ show on the Showmax streamer, which operates in 44 African countries.
“Roye Okupe’s vision for ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’ pushes the boundaries of what Afro-Anime can be on the big screen,” said August Media Group founder and CEO Jyotirmoy Saha, who will serve as EP for the feature, in a statement.
“We are excited to bring together some of the most talented anime animation studios in Asia to help realize that vision,” he added.
Commented Okupe: “Moy’s ability to attract gifted studios and artists through Asia to work on this film adds an exciting new dimension to the visual storytelling we are looking to achieve.”
“This is the international financing arrangement that springs out of the creative marriage of Anime from Asia with Roye’s unique vision,” noted Schwalbe, who is producing “Malika” under his DS Films banner alongside Emmy-winning producer Randy Dormans (“Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness”)
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