Episode #112 with Hamid Ibrahim

The Swinging Palm Trees Podcast

"...so we just came together ( with Tolu Olowofoyeku & Olufikayo 'Ziki' Adeola). The goals were close enough where we all wanted really good African storytelling, so that's the main umbrella (for forming 'Kugali'). But in terms of going into the nuance of it from my point of view, I really wanted the quality to be absolutely good, because Africa has amazing stories. If you look around the world, people will talk about diversity and all that. And I'm like, you can have as much of it as syou want: if the story is crap, nobody is going to watch it. So, it has to be really, really good quality for people to be able to understand it and take it in. So that's why I came in. That's what Kugali means to me. It's creating high quality visual stories that's going to inspire the next generation.
On today's episode, I geek out about animation, visual storytelling and culture with Kugali's Chief Executive Officer, Hamid Ibrahim. Hamid discusses his career, how Kugali Media came into existence from a collaboration from like-minded peers, and why he is a strong advocate for showcasing rich storytelling from all parts of Africa.
Hamid talks about Kugali's collaboration with Disney with their upcoming original animated series called 'Iwájú', set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria. Hamid also shares what genre of films he loves, comes up with a pretty convincing short story with no script, and of course, he shares the quote that continually inspires him.
Hamid Ibrahim is Co-Founder/CEO of Kugali Media. He has worked as a production designer with Walt Disney Animation Studios, and also worked at MPC.
Viewers will be able to stream the first episode of 'Iwájú' on Disney+ on the 28th of February 2024.
Thanks for listening to the episode. I'd like to thank my guest for their time, insight and being a great sport!
I would also like to thank my producer, Ashanti Omkar, for all her hard work.
If you'd like to be a guest, drop me a line at [e-mail].
Keep Rising & Thriving. Aṣẹ!