“Kavkabani”, an alien football-loving creature, arrived in Qatar by mistake two years before the start of the World Cup in a new animated series aimed at promoting Qatari culture and the tournament, which starts at the end of the year.
The spaceship Kokabani, a small and friendly pink alien, crashed in the desert of Qatar two years before the start of the World Cup.
This is the first animated series produced by Nafeesh Animation Studio, which was founded in 2018 and is one of the first animation production studios in the Gulf Emirates. Studio Nafeesh, which means “popcorn” in the local dialect, was founded by Hussain Haider, a CEO who studied animation in Malaysia, and Amal Al Shammari, a creative director.
“As an animation studio, we have looked at the content available in the region and even in Qatar and found that there is a lack of content that represents Qatari culture,” Al-Shammari, 35, told AFP. “We felt we needed a studio in Qatar that would take care of all those details and represent the Qatari culture in the right way,” she added. From November 21 to December 18, Qatar will host the first global finals in the Middle East and the Arab world.
Arabic culture
The series consists of five episodes. The first two episodes were broadcast on YouTube. Episodes up to ten minutes long are available with subtitles in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Hindi. Al-Shammari developed the script and dialogue for the series, noting that “Hussein who came up with the idea of an alien being.”
She worked on character drawing with a team of over thirty artists from the Middle East. For his part, Haider, 33, explains that “the lack of local artists prompted us to do research in the region, and only in the region, because we wanted participants to understand our culture and the importance of presenting Arab culture to the world.”
Three young Qataris find Kokbani and decide to take him in before the start of the World Cup. Three young people teach him how to say hello to those he meets, or show him with a hand that he doesn’t want more coffee. Each young person represents an aspect of Qatari culture. There is Faisal representing the traditional Bedouin man: “They are more proud of their culture and may overreact,” says Al-Shammari. But “they will always support you and support you.”
There is also a young Saad, a resident of the city and more “modern”, noting that he is “open to different cultures, open to people and willing to become a businessman”. The third young man, Khalifa, born to a British mother and a Qatari father, comes from a mixed community and is also a vegetarian. Throughout the series, Kavkabani learns first-hand about life in Qatar, food, and more. The series was not without funny situations.
While organizers expect an influx of 1.2 million viewers to Qatar to compete in the first World Cup in the Middle East, Al-Shammari explains that the animated series “will try to explain to the Qataris that the event (the World Cup) includes the arrival of many in Doha from different strata of society, countries and cultures. According to Al-Shammari, through episodes of the series, “we are trying to explain that there should be recognition of the cultures that will be in Doha, and we are trying to help them coexist and understand the Qatari culture smoothly and comfortably. “
The series was funded by the organizers of the Qatar World Cup, the High Committee on Delivery and Legacy, the Doha Film Institute and Vodafone Telecom. In his line of work, Hyder used commercial projects in which “the client imposes all restrictions”, explaining that “this is our series, and sponsors have given us all the support” and the freedom to produce this work. Al-Shammari and Haider are planning two more seasons of the animated series in addition to other projects dedicated to Arab culture. “Our legacy is full of stories and characters, and also full of heroes that we want to show the world from Qatar or the Arab region,” says Haydar.