MBaku: From The Mountains Fan Film

My name is Andre' L. Johnson and I am a Photographer, Cosplayer, and Actor. For the past few years I have taken on many roles and collaborated with other artists to produce short films of various genres. The more I create, the more inspired I become.



This year, Marvel's "Black Panther" became an instant box office hit around the world. It told an amazing story about King T'Challa coming back home to rule Wakanda after the death of his father. But his path to the throne was not an easy one, thanks to Lord M'Baku aka Man Ape. As the leader of the Jabari Tribe, dwelling in the snowy mountains of Wakanda, M'Baku upholds the traditions of their ancestors. To demonstrate his belief in tradtion, he comes to challenge day as one of the first Jabari to challenge in centuries. But the real question is why did M'Baku come to challenge day in the first place? That's where I come in.

I have been Cosplaying as the M'Baku character for awhile with my Cosplay group UsualRangers5. We have been nationally recognized for our costumes by actors from the movie like Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, and Ruth Carter, Black Panther's Head Costume Designer. I have always had an appreciation for M'Baku in the comics but the film gave him a level of depth I wanted to explore myself. I have written a short fan film about M'Baku before challenge day that explains why he shows up to challenge. The budget for the film is $3000. That amount would cover the creation of wardrobe, make up, props and set decorations, equipment rentals, insurance, food for the cast and crew, and a reserve of funds for emergencies on set. We are looking to film in mid January so we would need the funds no later than the end of December or beginning of January.

The support for this film would be greatly appreciated and would possibly be the first of its kind. Any donation will resourcefully utilized. Thank you for your support.