Nigerian American Grammy nominated artist Jidenna has made his filmmaking debut with KITA, a short film exploring ageing, loneliness, dignity and human connection through the relationship between an elderly, disabled Nigerian technology entrepreneur and a delivery robot, as reported by Pulse. Set in a near future city, the film follows the entrepreneur after he withdraws from society, before an unexpected relationship with the robot begins to reconnect him with the world around him. Jidenna wrote the story and characters, designed the world and composed the score, bringing the project to life through a distinctive stop motion style. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival as part of the second season of Beyond the Loop, an anthology created around new approaches to filmmaking.
KITA marks another expansion of Jidenna’s creative career beyond his established music profile, which includes songs such as “Classic Man” and “Bambi” and a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Although this is his directorial debut, Jidenna has previously appeared on screen, including in the short film To End All Spells. His transition into filmmaking also reflects a broader interest in developing stories and visual worlds that extend beyond music. In discussing the project, Jidenna said his journey began with imagining stories and images he had rarely seen represented, including his parents’ early relationship and his father as a young man.
The project also places Jidenna within the emerging intersection of entertainment, artificial intelligence and new production technology. KITA is the fifth release from Beyond the Loop Season 2, produced through Wonder Studios, an AI native film and content studio that works with filmmakers to develop original intellectual property using new creative tools. Wonder Studios said Jidenna wanted to create a stop motion style film centred on Black characters and worked with the studio to develop the concept through new workflows. Released on September 17 on YouTube and Wonder TV, KITA represents a significant new chapter in Jidenna’s career while highlighting how technology is opening additional routes for African and African diaspora creators to develop and own original stories for global audiences.
