PART 1- I Took The Original Concept Of “The Lady, Or The Tiger?” By Frank R. Stockton And Decided

Had the pleasure of attending the Director's talk at Tribeca Film Festival featuring Guillermo del Toro (2nd time meeting him since Cannes!) and hosted by Alec Baldwin. It was awesome! #guillermodeltoro #alecbaldwin #tribeca #filmmaker #actor #film #monstermovies (at Tribeca Film Festival) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwt_Bn-FmBb/?igshid=jqgwtxoakv93

Hi everyone! My film “Orisha’s Journey” is online so please feel free to check it out! Thanks for the support:^)

http://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/trishas-journey/ 

Ghanaian animator Abdul Ndadi’s fantasy film Orisha’s Journey (2014) has made it to the May 2015 Cannes Festival and will be screened in the Short Film Corner section which is part of the Cannes Court Métrage program. 

I am truly honored to be featured in this years festival and I want to give a huge thanks to my family and ALL my friends for their help and support! -Abdul

Abdul Ndadi is an animator from Ghana and a graduate from the School of Visual Arts, NY class of 2013.  He’s created an animation film entitled Orisha’s Journey (2014) which will be shown at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in Japan (21st August 2014 - 25th August 2014).

Orisha’s Journey is a fantasy tale of a girl’s journey through the spirit world (‘Orisha’ denotes a spirit in Nigerian Yoruba cosmology), who must learn about the importance of remembering one’s roots. The film, set in a mysterious walking forest, explores the power of a child’s imagination and the deep meanings and manifestations of Africa.

The film is based on African folklore. I want to show another side to Africa besides safaris, so I explore different aspects of different countries around Africa in order to give the viewer a pan-African experience. It’s important to me that Africans feel that no matter where they’re from, they’re part of my film. In the West, there is not a lot of exposure to real Africans  — most people only go as far as The Lion King.  I want to take people farther, to create a deeper meaning. There is a word in Ghanaian: “Sankofa” – it means to return that which was lost. It is a symbol for not forgetting your roots and learning from the past. It is said that a tree without roots cannot stand. - Abdul Ndadi

Hi All,

My film “Orisha’s Journey” is online now! Please feel free to check it out!:^) Thanks for all the support!

FILM SHORTAGE LINK "Daily Short Picks" http://filmshortage.com/dailyshortpicks/trishas-journey/

VIMEO LINK https://vimeo.com/149355438 

AWARDEO LINK

https://vimeo.com/groups/awardeo/videos/149355438

Hey y'all! I wanted to share a "Flower Spirit" sequence from my film Orisha's Journey. In African lore, it is believed that spirits dwell within all things and so all nature should be respected. Being of West African descent (Ghana) I grew up hearing tales of this sort which captured my imagination. (shout out to my boy Iker Maidagan on bkg colors!)

Hi, this is the colored version of the City of “Godstone” from my comic. (WIP) Thanks!

-Abdul 

Hey guys! I was featured today on Discover African Cinema a site that highlights great African films and new trends from the continent which are normally overlooked by mainstream media...

Here's the link to the article on my film Orisha's Journey feel free to check it out. Thanks!  

http://www.discoverafricancinema.com/watch-out-for-animator-abdul-ndadi/

Hey guys! I'm heading to Boston this sunday (1/25/2015) to the Glovebox Film Festival where they'll be playing my film along with a lot of really awesome ones! So if you're in the Boston Area come check it out gonna be a fun night...  Here's the link to the Line up! (mine is the last one in Animation Block II)

http://glvbx.com/festival-line-up/

PART 8- I took the original concept of “The Lady, Or the Tiger?” by Frank R. Stockton and decided to create my own version with original characters and dialogue. Here are the storyboards. (Please see other parts for the whole story) WIP

Character Design

A throwback of “Wizard of Oz” designs based on African folklore and a bit of my imagination:)

A few Wizard of Oz character designs I did for my 3rd year animation class at SVA*… Start of a comic I’ll be working on called Spirits of Oz (working title) based on African folklore take on the classic tale by Lyman Frank Baum.

*This prompt by my animation instructor Mario Menjiver was the genisis of my thesis film Orisha’s Journey