Tamara Shogaolu is celebrating the Black Girl Magic ethos and Black girls around the globe. She’s been tapped to helm “Anouschka,” a mixed reality (XR) film experience for Ado Ato Pictures. A press release confirmed the news.
Written by Elinor T. Vanderburg and Sandy Bosmans, the animated and interactive fictional story centers on Amara, a Black teenager in Amsterdam. “Anouschka” sees its heroine embarking “on a magical journey of self-discovery through time and space. Amara must travel back and connect with generations of women that preceded her in order to save her grandmother and twin brother from a multi-generational family curse,” the project’s synopsis details. “She discovers her family’s ancestry and magical powers along the way and reconnects with her roots while also learning more about the present.”
Audiences will actively participate in Amara’s journey. Movement, touch, and sound-based interactions will enable viewers to assist Amara “by chanting incantations and helping her collect magical items.”
“Until today, there has been no major studio animated feature film directed by a Black woman and there continues to be a glass ceiling and barriers to entry for Black women in tech, among many other fields,” said Shogaolu. “As a Black Latinx woman working at the intersection of film, animation, and technology, I want to believe that I can contribute to shattering those ceilings by allowing Black girls like me to see themselves and their magic come to life, while re-imagining how technology can help us tell stories. Since I was a child, I have been yearning and dreaming to see and create a story like ‘Anouschka,'” she explained, “a story about a smart young Black girl raised in a world of magical Black women like those in my world. I am even more thrilled that I get the opportunity to make a story that is written by talented Black women, produced by Black women, and directed by a Black woman.”
Shogaolu, who is the founder and creative director of Ado Ato Pictures, added, “I hope that you will join us in bringing ‘Anouschka’ to life so that there’s a place for stories like ours.”
