The world of animated movies is set to get another fierce female protagonist. Animation studio Tunche Films has teamed up with major studio Toonz Media Group in order to bring to life Kayara, a family adventure set against the backdrop of the Inca civilization. The story follows a girl who decides to break some glass ceilings and integrate an elite league that is only populated by men.
Kayara will be a Spanish-Peruvian co-production, with César Zelada (Together It’s Possible) attached to direct. The Peruvian animation studio Tunche Films has previously released a critically acclaimed female-led adventure — they’re the ones who made Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon.
The story of Kayara will center around the Chasqui Messengers, an elite, male-only league of official messengers in the Incan Empire. Kayara will try to become the first female Chasqui Messenger, but of course, it won’t be easy — to “earn” her place among the elite, Kayara will go on a quest with several difficult obstacles. In the meantime, the title character will also unveil secrets and ancient stories from her Inca civilization and culture.
When talking about Kayara, Toonz Media Group CEO P. Jayakumar praised fellow studio Tunche Films, revealed his love for the story, and celebrated the chance that both studios have to exchange ideas about culture and past civilizations:
“It is, indeed, a privilege for Toonz to partner with Tunche Films for this very ambitious project which has its roots firmly placed in ancient, indigenous wisdom and modern, progressive values at the same time. Apart from bringing on-screen a strong female character, Kayara also provides us the unique opportunity to collaborate in a truly international project that brings together teams from diverse cultures across the world.”
Carlos Biern, President of Animation Production and Co-production at Toonz Media Group, added that Kayara’s story is centuries-old but can easily resonate with today’s audiences, and underlined the importance of having a platform for Spanish-speaking voices:
“Kayara is the story of a heroine who changed the role of women in many ways. Her epic journey follows situations and characters that can be easily identified by today’s audience, even though the story is set 500 years ago. We are very honored to bring it to life in our Spanish-speaking animation industry, together with the award-winning Tunche studio.”
Kayara’s epic journey is sure to be seen by several different audiences: the movie has already been pre-sold to 15 international distributors, including Le Pacte (France), WW Entertainment (Benelux), Praesens (Switzerland), Front Row (Middle East), Rialto Distribution (Australia/New Zealand) and CDC (Latin America), among others.
The bad news is that we’ll have to wait a while before witnessing this magnificent cultural story in theaters — Toonz Media Group and Tunche Films have slated Kayara for a 2024 release.
via Collider