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ZOMA Studios announces Mmanwu, their upcoming animated horror short.
It follows “Ogechi, a Nigerian-American teenager, as she travels back to Nigeria after the death of her grandfather. However, her mourning is interrupted when she confronts an aspect of her culture she doesn’t understand, forcing her to contend with her identity as both Nigerian and American.”
ZOMA studios explains that Mmanwu will blend magical realism and horror, and explore ” themes of grief, spirituality and cross-cultural understanding.”
Here is the trailer:
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to fund the short film. The campaign will give you more information about the project, the characters, as well as how the funds will be used.
Backing Mmanwu on Kickstarter will give you access to various rewards, such as project updates, early access to the short film, digital art dowloads, soundtrack download,, access to the production podcast, and even a physical artbook.
Mmanwu is directed and written by Uzo Ngwu, produced by ZOMA Studios. Animation studio and production company ZOMA Studio explains that this is their debut film project. The company is based online, and relies on a team of artists listed below. They are located in various countries, including France: 2D animator Marilou is based in the South of France, and recently worked at French studio Les Fees Speciales.
Written and Directed by Uzo Ngwu / Produced by ZOMA Studios / Storyboards by Jason Raymond, Caleb Blue, Manny Edeko / Storyboard Revisions by Ifesinachi Orjiekwe / Character Designs by Ebuka Okwara, Christina Zhang, Christina Oyebade / Background Paint + Visual Development by Victoria Imo / Background Layout by Cynthia Osaseri / Animation by Quincy Baltes, Joshua Adeoye, Marilou Botta / Additional Animation by Isa Adler / Compositing by Cristina Davis / Color Design by Oak Bediako / Composing by Nia-Simone Egerton / Songwriting by Sól, Brandon Orr / Music Supervision and Sound Design by Dusty Hall / Sung by Olaedo, Uzo Ngwu, Sól and Brandon Orr
