A black British family have landed themselves an exciting job to create a brand new children's television programme after making a cartoon for their daughter, who struggled to see herself represented on screen and in books.
Cynthia and Anthony Deluola, of Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage, have no previous work experience in the TV field – as they work in child safeguarding and as an airline pilot respectively – but have created an animation and self-published books for their daughter and are set to inspire more families with their upcoming show titled Ama's Story.
The couple impressed producers at Sky after sending the cartoon off to the channel.
Cynthia and Anthony, who's book series is called Ama's Stories, impressed bosses with how much they achieved with their animation and got them working with Wildseed Studios to collaborate on a show which will portray a black family as aspirational, educated and successful – to buck the inaccurate stereotypes often represented on screen.
The characters are based on their own family – which includes Elise, who's Ghanian name is Ama, and her two brothers, who both have English and Ghanian names; Aaron (Ayo) and Jadon (Ade).
Child actress Nyemah Bentley takes the lead role of Ama in the programme, which mixes animation and real life together, while Jeriah Kibusi plays Ayo and Ace Shinobi is undertaking the role of Ade in the programme.
Ama's Story will be screen on February 24 by Sky Kids and features live actors and animation.
The story will see Ama's family help her realise she can use her own imagination to write her own story, after she reveals she needs to choose a book to take for her school's book day.
Mum Cynthia revealed how she came up with the idea to create books and an animation for her daughter – which they created in their spare time – after their daughter expressed how she didn't feel represented by current characters and felt out of place during a World Book Day event.
Ama then went to school in traditional Ghanian dress, which she "loved" but sadly felt "conscious" when she saw her classmates dressed as wizards and princesses. It was upon hearing this that Cynthia felt urged to make a change.
Cynthia recalled to The Guardian: "At the time, there was not a lot of books that represented black children or diversity. Even the cartoons, there were not a lot. So we thought, ‘OK, she likes to wear traditional African outfits, she has plenty, she could wear an African dress’. She loved it. She got to the school playground and saw everyone else, with Rapunzel and other fairytale characters. She felt so self-conscious.
"Her teachers said, ‘You look amazing, what have you come as?’ ‘I’ve come as myself.’ She didn’t want to take off her coat. She wanted to go home and change because she felt everyone was looking at her. I was disheartened and felt I needed to be the change I wanted to see."
The parents then got together to create and self-publish four books and made a cartoon and enlisted the help of animators in Ghana as they voiced the characters.
Now, the special one-off cartoon – which shows a house filled with books and laughter – will air on Sky but the project is still a family one as the Deluolas have been involved in every aspect of the show.
Anthony Deluola described the experience as "a dream come true", as he added: "The kids can see something that they can relate to.
"The food that’s being cooked, the way the family looks, especially from a London perspective.
"There’s nothing that’s relatable in terms of ‘that’s where I live, that’s how I talk, that’s how I look’. Doing the cartoon and shopping it around wasn’t easy, but my wife dared to dream."
