Nigeria’s Creele Animation Studios Unveils 3D-Short ‘Sopo’ Inspired By Afrobeat Star Fela Kuti & Int’l Ambitions

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian startup Creele Animation Studios has unveiled first images and details for its upcoming 3D short Sopo, inspired by the early life of revered late Afrobeat star Fela Kuti.

The Lagos-based animation company says the work, directed by Nigerian singer songwriter and co-founder Nissi Ogulu, marks a step in its ambition to introduce African animation to the world.

It is loosely inspired by Nigerian broadcaster and music critic Benson Idonije’s 2016 memoir ‘Dis Fela Sef! The Legend(s) Untold’, paying tribute to Kuti, whose work has inspired a host of contemporary artists such as Wycliff Jean and Beyoncé.

Idonije was well-placed to write the biography having been Kuti’s first band manager and life-long friend. In Sopo, Kuti’s story has been transposed into the tale of Oyejo, a young musician yearning for the approval of father Dotun, a man too consumed by expectation to recognize his son’s true gift.