One of the many projects that will be discussed and showcased at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival is that of producer Maso Maruyama, director Gisaburō Sugii, and American animation producer and distributor Gkids’ Mfinda. The film is one of the first of its kind to be an anime telling a fantastical story based on a strictly African story while using African characters. To emphasize the film’s sincerity, in addition to being created by Christiano Terry, founder-CEO of N Lite, a multimedia company that will also help produce the movie, Congolese-American artist Patience Lekien also took part in the story.

It’s been noted that the film focuses on a twelve-year-old Congolese girl as she travels through the magical forest of mfinda. There she encounters spirits, ancestors, and another little girl from a different period. The two girls team up to find the Nkisi, which allows for the holding of hearts and strengthens materials and medicine, and hopes that the object will help the Congolese girl return home.

Maruyama said this about the film: “Last year, my good friend Shigeru Igari, whom I have known for many years from Madhouse, and Shin Koyamada shared this new African anime film, ‘Mfinda,’ with me. When Christiano and I met in Japan earlier this year, his enthusiasm for the film compelled me to join. I’m ready to tell a story about the positive power of spirits and community that will resonate in Japan and around the world.”