South Africa's first female-led animation studio announces "Sola" project

August 11 2020

Johannesburg-based Studio Yezi, an animation studio founded by Thandiwe Mlauli, has announced its first project in development, which will also be South Africa's first independently produced, female-driven Afro-animated film. with Mlauli as producer, director and showrunner. The production, entitled SOLA, will include a series and an accompanying short film.

SOLA is an action-adventure, fantasy and training series about the adventures of a girl named Sola who experiences her magical awakening in a world where magic is dangerous and deadly.

Sola

According to the company's website, "Yezi" is short for "inkanyezi", which means "star" in isiZulu. The development and animation shop intends to “be a symbol of hope and light, we intend to serve the world with our storytelling”.

As founder of the studio, Mlauli is already carving out a unique space in the South African animation and entertainment industry that focuses on local heart-warming stories, diverse narratives and character representations, as well as nurturing and developing new talent. locals.

After graduating with a BFA in Film and TV Production from the New York Film Academy, the studio founder spent time in Los Angeles studying international animation game by attending workshops such as the first Black Women Animate Bootcamp of its kind in 2018. , and returned to her home country after building a network of like-minded creatives around the world.

Studio Yezi, true to Mlauli's motivated and creative nature, launched an ambitious global fundraising campaign (#MakeSOLAHappen) to complete production on the SOLA series and short films. Having already begun the development process thanks to independent funding, Mlauli and his team are offering everyday South Africans and lovers of representative storytelling around the world the opportunity to invest in a project destined to leave a mark not only. in local animation but in international territories as well.

Find out more or make a contribution that will help the production team, cast and developers get closer to making SOLA on national and international screens, visit www.studioyezi.co.za.