Crocodile Dance is a classic monster tale with a love story at its heart. What sets it apart is the setting and the monster; The Mami Wata. She is West Africa's most revered and feared goddess/creature. 10 feet tall, fish tails for legs, a deadly voice, blood-red eyes, and favor that can make you beautiful or wealthy. The film takes place in the fictional seaside town of Itesi, a seeming promised land with a dark secret legacy. Its seedy inner city streets cast neon light onto pristine beach sand whose tides rise higher with every generation. Afro high-life pulses from the radios of surfers and wandering theater troupes perform and tell tales of these ancient water creatures that steal men's souls.
Crocodile Dance is a love letter to the younger self of Shof Coker from Coker Coop, a self wracked with anxieties over self worth and an uncertain future. The story uses the powerful device of myth as allegory to shine a light on several themes with messages of self-belief and hope in adversity at its core. In developing this film, Coker Coop not only seeks to tell a uniquely African story, but to do so with key African voices that are also inclusive of global talent- From animators, to voice talent and musicians. Several members of the Coker Coop team worked on "Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire" and "Star Wars: Visions" for Disney+, where they tangibly expressed this ethos in a production setting.
In this early phase of development, while developing the film’s animatic, Coker Coop intends to engage with a Nigerian dance company to develop and film some dances that will be used for animation reference, as well as acting references from local Nigerian performers. They are currently seeking funding for this stage.
