Swaziland, Qatar and USA / 2017 / 76mins / Animation, Documentary / English, SiSwati and Arabic

A Swazi girl embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. This animated tale is born out of 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.

Amanda Kopp

Amanda Kopp is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and artist. She was producer and cinematographer for the award-winning short film, Likhaya (2009). She also filmed for The Hunting Ground (2015). Amanda’s photographic work has been published in the UK, US, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Pakistan, and Italy. For her feature directorial debut, Liyana, she was awarded funding from Shine Global and Fork Films and was the recipient of the 2018 Emerging Female Filmmaker Award from the Oxford Film Festival. Liyana’s festival and award highlights include the Grand Prize Award at both the Heartland Film Festival and the New York International Children’s Film Festival, as well as screening at the BFI London Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Learn More

Aaron Kopp

Aaron Kopp is an award-winning filmmaker and national Emmy-nominated cinematographer who grew up in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Kopp shot and co-produced the Academy Award-winning documentary Saving Face (2012). He was also cinematographer for the Sundance Audience Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated film, The Hunting Ground (2015). He has worked across the globe on films for HBO, Netflix Originals and other networks. Kopp was awarded grants from the MacArthur Foundation and the Doha Film Institute for his feature directorial debut, Liyana, which has won more than 20 awards at international festivals. Learn More