A National Film Board of Canada production

A woman travels through time and memory, from savannahs to the cosmos, searching for a mysterious egg that will reveal her future. Along the way, she draws strength from the blood memory of her ancestors. This animated short is a moving allegory about lineage and enduring resilience across millennia.

A woman journeys through time and terrain, guided by ancestral memory, to find a mysterious egg that holds the key to her future.

Mixed media animation (10 techniques)

Multiplane animation
Ink on glass
Paint on paper
Paint in water
Clay on glass
Traditional cutout animation
Sand animation
3D-printed zoetrope
Digital 2D animation
Digital 3D animation

The film emerged from conversations. We wanted to move away from narratives that dwell in trauma and instead create a work that transforms hardships into lessons, a vision of beauty and possibility.

As African-Canadian artists, we are inspired by the oral and visual traditions sustained by our elders and ancestors. We asked ourselves how we might tap into these ancient ways of knowing and awaken the strength each of us carries within.

Ian comes from a background in writing, while Bogdan’s expertise lies in visual arts and animation. Together, we met regularly to discuss design, syntax, movement and theme. Every storyboard, word and colour was chosen to reflect resilience and the power of dreaming. We explored narrative and visual tools that could capture eons in a single story, challenging Western notions of time. Bogdan drew from traditional techniques inspired by West African artisans, experimenting with clay on glass, paper cut-outs, stop-motion, 3D and 2D digital animation, sand, shadow and water to evoke ancestral and Afrofuture aesthetics.

This film is meant to inspire those who feel lost or disconnected from the answers written in their DNA. It is a call to look inward, to rediscover the wisdom held within our own histories. The film is a love letter from us to the ancestors, and from the ancestors to us. We want the film to spark the memory that illuminates your tomorrow.

Bogdan Anifrani-Fedach and Ian Keteku

Contact NFB publicist for high-resolution images for print.