Celebrating Black History Month: Highlighting African Collaboration

This year's theme for Black History Month is: 'Africans and the Arts'. What does this mean for the global Afrocentric artistic expressions? A conversation has been brewing for some time about how we can include BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) in various narrative expressions, particularly in the film space. 

Granted, art is a powerful medium for expressing individual and collective ideas. While strides towards inclusivity and representation of BIPOC have been evident in live-action productions over the past decade, the same cannot be said for the animation sphere, especially adult animation. Animated content has traditionally adhered to certain portrayals and catered to specific demographics, often neglecting diverse representation. There is a clear global push for inclusivity and representation in the arts, as seen in recent films such as 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse', Blue Eye Samurai and Kid Cudi's 'Entergalactic'. 

Could this signify winds of change and a collective joy in seeing the emerging rich tapestry of diverse storytelling? 

Closer to home, the launch of the award-winning 'Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire The Disney Anthology Series' that Chocolate Tribe and other African studios worked on, continues to create a dynamic energy and demand for content from the continent. 

The game changer in this space is the collaborative effort amongst various studios within Africa and beyond. Projects like Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire challenge the notion that African stories must always focus on past struggles. African art and stories are diverse, nuanced, and can have a joie de vivre. 

Africa is most certainly adorned with wonderful narratives that stem from folklore, mystical tales and the creative interpretation of contemporary life. Hence there are a multitude of untold stories within the African continent that ought to be heard by the global audience. 

Black History Month is a moment of reflection, celebration and education. It is an opportunity to rewrite history for future generations, trailblazing a path for new narratives. More importantly, it is not about exclusion but an invitation to create space for the meaningful exchange of ideas, cultural growth, and learning. As part of the global push to collaborate across the globe. Chocolate Tribe continues to invite those connections that propel the industry forward. From local and global perspectives, we have seen success in these collaborations on productions such as the Netflix UK feature Film, 'The Kitchen', Disney’s 'Black is King' and Netflix SA INumber Number 2: Jozi Gold. 

Even in these challenging times, we hope this collaborative spirit continues.