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Liyana documents the inspiring story of a young girl in rural Swaziland, whose parents die from AIDS, and whose little twin brothers are stolen by child traffickers after she and her frail grandmother are assaulted and abused. Liyana must then set out, against all the odds but with her loyal white bull by her side, to find her brothers and save them from men and monsters.    If this sounds closer to fiction than documentary then you are not entirely wrong, but where that dividing line actually lies is decidedly unclear. Liyana, the girl, is the fictional creation of a group of young Swazi orphans.   These children are guided through the creative process by Gcina Mhlophe, a South African icon of storytelling, who uses...

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It is through oral storytelling that most key folk tales, myths and histories across African culture have been passed and preserved through the generations. It is by tapping into this rich tradition, meanwhile, that “Liyana” makes authentic a device that might otherwise have seemed cutesy: leaving half its story in the hands, or rather mouths, of five young Swazi orphans, as they collectively weave an epic quest narrative about a resilient tribal girl trying to reunite her family against daunting odds. The rest of Aaron and Amanda Kopp’s short but stout-hearted documentary colors in the challenging reality that shapes the children’s fiction — foremost among them the AIDS epidemic that continues to blight the tiny nation of eSwatini (formerly Swaziland).

“Liyana” uses vibrantly distinctive animation to illustrate the kids’ ongoing, imaginative saga: Fusing static but 3D-sculpted characters with subtly shifting 2D backdrops, this “breathing painting” style lends a picture-book...

Exclusive: Abramorama announced today that they will release the visually imaginative documentary Liyana from directors Amanda Kopp and Aaron Kopp (The Hunting Ground). The film is set to open in New York City on Oct. 10 with a theatrical release slated for select cities in the following weeks.

Executive produced by Westworld‘s Thandie Newton and produced by Academy Award-winning director Daniel Junge (Saving Face), the docu features South African storyteller Gcina Mhlophe guiding us in a narrative about five orphaned children from Swaziland who collaborate to craft a collective fairytale drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their titular fictional character, Liyana, is brought to life in innovative animated artwork as she embarks on a perilous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. The children’s real and imagined worlds begin to converge, and they must choose what kind of story they will tell — in fiction and in their own lives.

There’s multiple ways to tell stories depending on the message you wish to instill. So when the subject you’re tackling concerns a country like Swaziland with a rampant AIDS epidemic and the resulting insanely high orphanage rate, you can choose a path towards the stark futility of the situation or find a way to unearth the hope that remains despite it. Documentarians Aaron and Amanda Kopp decide to do the latter with Liyana, a unique hybrid wherein fact is projected through a prism of fiction as both a mechanism to educate outsiders and heal from within. They’ve placed their cameras inside an orphanage for children who know little beyond tragedy to watch them turn those devastating experiences into an inspirational work of art that proves their voices matter.

They’re filming a project spearheaded by acclaimed storyteller Gcina Mhlophe, one that asks these lost souls to come...

Liyana documents the inspiring story of a young girl in rural Swaziland, whose parents die from AIDS, and whose little twin brothers are stolen by child traffickers after she and her frail grandmother are assaulted and abused. Liyana must then set out, against all the odds but with her loyal white bull by her side, to find her brothers and save them from men and monsters.    If this sounds closer to fiction than documentary then you are not entirely wrong, but where that dividing line actually lies is decidedly unclear. Liyana, the girl, is the fictional creation of a group of young Swazi orphans. These children are guided through the creative process by Gcina Mhlophe, a South African icon of storytelling, who uses her...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...