This Video Explores the Rise of Nigeria's Animation Industry

For years, Nollywood has been at the forefront of all things Nigerian cinema, but a new video from BBC Africasuggests that the country's animation industry may have the potential to become just as big as Nollywood.

The use of animation in films is steadily rising in the country, propelled by the innovative 2016 3D short film Dawn of Thunder, which tells the ancient story of Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder. The first animated version of Sango appeared in a Marvel Thor Comic from 1982 and then again in a DC comic entailed New Earth in 1990.

Dawn of Thunder, was created by Lagos-based animation house, Komotion Studios, where creators wanted the story of Sango to be told from a uniquely African perspective.

"What we were trying to do, was to tell an African story the African way, using technology and using tools that will be able to portray them properly," says Komotion Studios CEO Kolawole Olarewaju.

"People are kind of realizing now that it's going to be an economy booster in the long run," he continues.

While the industry still has some growing to do before it is fully competitive with Nollywood, the future looks promising.

"Animation is definitely growing at a slower pace than Nollywood in general," says Chioma Onyenwe of the African International Film Festival. "But the audience is growing, the animators are growing, they are getting better. The landscape is easier, so it's easier to learn, you go online—the technology is more accessible."

With the advancements made in Nigeria's animation industry and the upcoming US release of animated films like "Bilal," inspired by the story of the great Ethiopian warrior—who became Islam's first muezzin—it appears that the telling of African narratives through previously unexplored mediums is on the rise.

Learn more about Nigeria's budding animation studios with the short clip below, and head toBBC Africa to watch the full video.