OVERSEEING ART DIRECTOR KIZAZI MOTO
ENKAI
Directed by Ng’endo Mukii – Kenya
Floating through the universe in her gourd-shaped home, young Enkai just wants to spend time with her single mother, Shiro, a cosmic deity who works all the time in the stressful and demanding job of saving the Earth from man-made destruction. With Shiro’s health fading, Enkai must uncover the secrets of creation, and use her own divine powers to bring an entirely new future into being.
Enkai was a hybrid film, 2D, 3D and stop motion produced by Blink UK.
It was a pleasure working alongside Director/Creator Ng’endo Mukii. This film was by far the most magical approach in the series of 10 films for the anthology. I felt very connected to this project as magical realism and fantasy are a genre I have a soft spot for. Developing the design of these characters was a world of fun. The opportunity to create magical beings where there was no limit to the adornment and beauty aside from staying true to their Kenyan cilture was a once in a lifetime project. Creating Enkai and Shiro we drew from Kenyan flora, traditional art, crafts and items of significance in the culture. The world we created was seraphic yet felt rooted in it’s inspiring geography. Leaning on Enkai’s growth and final bloom into a god herself, allowed us to explore creations that would be appealing to a child. Items they might connect and collect - those special and unique combinations - that only the innocence of a child might find wondrous. It was interesting to look through the eyes of a child and see the wonder of the objects that spoke to her and flesh out what beautiful things she could create from her found objects. Interestingly enough the design for Awa came from Ng’endo herself and was based on a rough sketch she quickly hashed out.
The idea that all three worlds, Enkai’s home, Mt Kenya and Thayari were treated in a different medium was a lovely solution to explore the concept of separate dimensions.
Early Visual development Art Direction
Enkai Art Director @Blink: Camille Perrin
