Liyana Film Difficulty Ranking: 1
If you’re looking for a great children powered docu-animation from eSwatini (Swaziland) you’ve come to the right place. Liyana is both a universal children’s story that everyone can relate to or sympathise with and a film which uses a unique way of storytelling. It’s familiar and unique.
From: eSwatini, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Request a Screening
Next: Africa United, Song of the Sea, The Missing Picture
Why Watch Liyana?
- It’s a unique way of children’s storytelling
- Learn about life as a kid in eSwatini
- For human powered animation
- If you like myths or Joseph Campbell
The Breakdown
Liyana opens with a group of school kids at the top of a hill looking down on the valley below. In the opening minutes, the director cuts between showing the kids at the top of the hill and the kids in the classroom dreaming up the appearance and story of Liyana, our protagonist. In combination with the uplifting music, the top of the mountain shots help set the mythical, fantasy tone (they’re closer to the sky), preparing us for some imaginative storytelling.
However, before the film dives into the animation narrated by the school kids, we are introduced to the kids – they’re orphans who have been subject to traumatic, violent lives, living in an orphanage in eSwatini. For example, one kid tells us how her grandfather used to tie her up with a rope to stop her from playing outside. We also meet Gcina Mhlophe, the storyteller who has come to the children’s home to guide a storytelling workshop. She believes the story they create will reflect their experiences and give us a door into their lives, that might otherwise be kept closed.
As their imagination flows, we meet the animated version of Liyana they have created. The kids tell us about the night where Liyana’s mother birthed twins as a dual forked lightning bolt struck the earth. They also tell us about her violent father that drinks and parties too much and goes out with other girls in the city. He only returns to their village when HIV ‘pops out and gets him’. He soon dies, followed by their mother – something that over 200,000 kids in eSwatini have experienced and a lot of the kids telling the story.
Our Common Myth – Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces
At this point the film follows the Joseph Campbell ‘Hero With a Thousand Faces‘ structure as seen in Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lion King, and many other films and novels. Firstly, Liyana becomes an orphan, forcing her to care for herself and her twin brothers. Secondly, robbers come and kidnap her twin brothers, triggering Liyana into starting a quest to rescue them. Along the way, as per the universal narrative, she faces challenges (crossing a crocodile infested river, surviving a night in the jungle) in order to achieve her quest and find herself as a person.
By following the universal hero’s journey structure, the film’s creators make Liyana relatable to all of the orphans. It also turns the story of Liyana into a narrative relatable to audiences worldwide who have encountered stories with the same narrative structure. This makes it easy for us to sympathise with Liyana, and the children of the orphanage.
Liyana as a Fantasy Docu-animation
The beauty of Liyana is that the animation created by the kids reflects their own lives. The outline of Liyana’s quest reflects their struggles and challenges they have personally faced and might not have been open to talk about if this was a regular documentary and they were being interviewed. Throughout the film the director cuts between the animation and their reality to show the similarities in their stories. Liyana is their collective experience of growing up in eSwatini.
What to Watch Next
If you’re looking for another universal African children’s story that also follows elements of the hero’s journey, check out Africa United.
If you’re after more mythical animation, check out Tom Moore’s Song of the Sea which revolves around Irish mythology.
Or if you’re looking for more unique ways of storytelling, check out Rithy Panh’s unique recounting of the Cambodian genocide: The Missing Picture.
','' ); } ?>