Lion Forge Entertainment, the prodco behind the Academy Award-winning short Hair Love, is partnering with Taylor K. Shaw’s Black Women Animate Studios (BWA) to advance their shared mission of fostering diversity and representation in front of and behind the camera in the animation industry. BWA will work with Lion Forge’s Atlanta-based production studio to recruit a diverse pool of talent for pre-production roles on the Nigerian fantasy series Iyanu, based on the graphic novels by Roye Okupe. The show will air on Cartoon Network and Max.
The partnership is led by Lion Forge Entertainment’s Founder and CEO David Steward II, and aims to further expand access and opportunities for Black and POC animators to train the next generation of creators and producers.
“Lion Forge stands for diverse stories, authentically told,” said Steward. “BWA is one of the organizations leading the effort to open up this industry to new voices and new creators and we are thrilled to join forces with them to provide under-represented talent with the platform they deserve. Together, we will redefine the boundaries of storytelling and inspire a new generation of diverse voices in animation.”
The team-up strengthens Lion Forge Entertainment’s presence in Atlanta’s entertainment hub, and its reputation as the leading Black-owned studio celebrated for empowering underrepresented communities through storytelling. LFE recently expanded its production slate to include live-action as well as animation.
“We are thrilled to embark on this talent pipeline partnership with Lion Forge Animation. We are coming together to hire and train diverse talent for their upcoming series and will continue our efforts through an ongoing equity strategy that will be announced later this year,” said Shaw, Founder & CEO of Black Women Animate.
With a background in original IP development, BWA Studios offers design and animation solutions as well as advisory services for commercial and long-form entertainment. The studio’s production and programming resume spans all platforms, driving equity in the animation industry by intentionally hiring Black women, women of color and nonbinary people of color.
Set against the rich tapestry of Yoruba people of Nigeria’s history and achievements, Iyanu is an adaptation of Dark Horse Comics/YouNeek Studios’ popular graphic novel series Iyanu: Child of Wonder. The 2D animated series takes place in the magical kingdom of Yorubaland and centers on Iyanu, a teenage orphan girl who studies Yoruba history and ancient arts, but yearns for a normal life.
One day, Iyanu unknowingly triggers her divine powers, which have not been seen since the Age of Wonders. With these newly discovered superpowers, she joins forces with two other teenagers on a remarkable journey to discover the truth about the evil lurking in her homeland. Throughout her adventure, she’ll uncover the truth about her past, her parents and her ultimate destiny to save the world.
Last summer, it was announced that Brandon Easton (Transformers: War for Cybertron: Siege, Marvel’s Agent Carter) is spearheading the series writers’ room, with creator Roye Okupe serving as the executive producer, writer and director on multiple episodes. Lion Forge Entertainment’s Saxton Moore (Rise Up, Sing Out), will serve as supervising director, and executive producers include LFE’s Steward and Matt Heath, Impact X Capital’s Erica Dupuis, Forefront Media Group’s Ryan Haidarian and Doug Schwalbe.
Lion Forge Entertainment is represented by Activist Artists Management.
