Liyana

Liyana

Qatar, Swaziland, USA / Color / 77' / 2018

A Swazi girl embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. This animated African tale is born in the imaginations of five orphaned children in Swaziland who collaborate to tell a story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character’s journey is interwoven with poetic and observational documentary scenes to create a genre-defying celebration of collective storytelling.

Aaron Kopp
Amanda Kopp

He is an award-winning filmmaker and national Emmy-nominated cinematographer who grew up in the Kingdom of Swaziland. He shot and coproduced the Academy Award-winning documentary about acid attacks in Pakistan, Saving Face.He was also cinematographer for the Sundance Audience Award winning and Academy Award nominated film, The Hunting Ground, about sexual assault on college campuses. He has worked across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, North America, and the South Pacific on films for HBO, Netflix Originals, National Geographic, Discovery, UK Channel4, CBS, CNN, and PBS. She is an award-winning photographer and artist. She was producer and cinematographer for the short film, Likhaya, which won a Golden Palm, People’s Choice, and Best Documentary awards at international festivals. She also filmed for the Sundance 2015 premiered film, The Hunting Ground. Her photographic work has been published in the UK, US, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Pakistan, and Italy. Her photographs won the Grand Prize in the Photo District News Top Knots photography competition.


Cast & Crew

  • direction: Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp
  • Cinematography: Aaron Kopp, Shofela Coker
  • Editing: Aaron Kopp, Davis Coombe
  • music: Philip Miller
  • Sound Design: Cody Ball
  • producer:: Thandie Newton, Susan McLaury, Albie Hecht, Lisa Schejola Akin
en_USEnglish
Scroll to Top