Interview: PROTECTORS OF WAKANDA: A HISTORY AND TRAINING MANUAL OF THE DORA MILAJE by Karama Horne

Find out if you have what it takes to become a member of the Dora Milaje and bring honor to your tribe!

Courtesy of Marvel, I got to preview the upcoming book PROTECTORS OF WAKANDA: A HISTORY AND TRAINING MANUAL OF THE DORA MILAJE by Karama Horne. Catch us discuss her process, inspirations, the Wakandan alphabet, and the intricacies of Wakandan culture. There is a reason the Dora Milaje are often referred to as “living weapons.”

Now publishing September 20, 2022, PROTECTORS OF WAKANDA: A HISTORY AND TRAINING MANUAL OF THE DORA MILAJE takes you inside Wakanda’s elite, all-female guard—to learn what it takes to join their ranks. In this manual you will learn all about Wakandan history, Dora training, weapons and attire.

To master your evaluation you must master your lessons, you must adhere to the five tenets of the Dora Milaje:

Tradition
Honor
Strength
Courage
Compassion

In this exclusive, in-world manual, you’ll step inside this elite society of women warriors and discover what it’s like to train as member of the Dora Milaje. Recruited from across all tribes, the selected initiates undergo intense training, both physical and mental.

Passed down from elder Dora to initiates, with entries by General Okoye, Princess Shuri, and Queen Mother Ramonda, Protectors of Wakanda reveals not only the history and foundation of the unit, but collects the strategy, weapons, and combat training as well as the code of honor and nuances of service required to protect the Black Panther and the nation of Wakanda.

Added commentary and guidance from notable warriors, such as Mistress Zola, Ayo, Aneka and M’yra, fill the margins of this treasured text.

“The history of Wakanda is a marriage of tradition and technology.” Vibranium is the greatest source of power – used to create weapons and advanced tools for agriculture. The very rare and valuable type of vibranium could only be found and mined from Wakanda. Learn all about its rich history from characters such as Queen Romonda and Princess Shuri. (See preview pages below)

There were many methods the warriors used to prepare for battle, including meditation rituals.
“Rest and healing are as important as strength and fighting.” I not only loved learning about the Warrior practices for battles and their choice of weapons but how they mentally prepare themselves and recover.

Learn about Queen Nehanda, the founder of the Dora Milaje and how she chooses her initiates: “the Adorned Ones” aka the Dora Milaje. The manual breaks down the use of weapons, and the different attire based on levels of training. Cosplayers will love seeing all the different costume breakdowns. Loved chatting with Karama about her inspirations and which comics and cultures she drew inspiration from in writing this book. We also talk about which artist she got to work with on this manual, and the importance in telling these kind of stories.

PREORDER NOW: (contact your local book store)

Protectors of Wakanda: A History and Training Manual for the Dora Milaje cover art by Ashley A. Woods

*Photos courtesy of Marvel/ Epic ink

Karama Horne (@theblerdgurl”) is a writer, podcaster, host and critic parked at the intersection of geekdom and diversity. Founder of theblerdgurl® brand, Karama is recognized throughout genre entertainment as an authority on geekdom and inclusion. She has been seen on red carpets, hosting comic con panels from New York to San Diego and has been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, The Guardian, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Black Enterprise. She curated the sequential art exhibit “Artist’s Experience: From Brotherman to Batman” Karama also has bylines at Marvel.com, Rotten Tomatoes, NERDIST, SYFYWIRE, and The Wrap. Her first novel, set in the world of the Black Panther Universe, “Protectors of Wakanda: A History and Training Manual for the Dora Milaje”, hits bookshelves Fall of 2022

Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival - Interview with Producers

Otakus and Geeks got to cover the Film Festival and interview two of the events producers.

Catch us discuss how to manage putting together such a large scale festival, and what producers look for when choosing films and directors to work with.

The annual Academy Awards® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival  is back and for the 18th Annual event! Every year the festival gets bigger and better than the last, with an amazing stacked line-up of films to present over ten days of screenings. HollyShorts (HSFF) brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers.

The festival will run from August 11th to August 20th at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, as well as online: Bitpix. The festivities will be one of the most high profile yet!

Over 400 films on display this year, this is set to be one of the most diverse slates yet, with over 5000 entries, 161 female directors and 101 BIPOC directors among the films from this year’s program. A press release was sent out announcing the selections for the 18th annual festival and the incredible films that are leading the way.

About HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) #HSFF2022

www.hollyshorts.com

The annual Academy Awards® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival will celebrate its 18th year in August 2022. HollyShorts (HSFF) brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers. HollyShorts, a regular on MovieMaker Magazine’s “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list”, also engages its community and spotlights short films year-round through monthly screenings, panels, and networking events. HollyShorts Film Festival will take place in-person between August 11-20th, 2021 at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, with the annual Awards Gala set to take place on August 20th, 2022. 

About Bitpix

https://bitpixtv.com/

Born out of the Oscar® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Bitpix is a new Premium AVOD platform, featuring the world's best short films. The platform is already live in alpha mode and available via Bitpixtv.com. Bitpix is streamed through the app for download on Airplay, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, AppleTV, Chromecast, IOS, Roku.

Flame Con 2022

I had the absolute pleasure of attending Flame Con over the weekend!

This is an amazing even featuring fan and creator events with a LGBTQ+ friendly environment. And when I say friendly, I mean it in the purest way. I’ve been to a ton of conventions and Flame Con remains number one in terms of of how helpful, kind, polite, and just overall a delight to deal with not only the volunteers but exhibitors, authors, artists, and singers. Yes, singers. There was an acapella performance that was just stunning.

I bought waaaaay too many books and had a couple of them signed with cute doodles.

The panel I was most interested in was censorship in libraries and they had some amazing ideas I was able to apply them to what I will likely have to deal with at work considering some of the more… Spicy offerings in my library’s collection.

I had a great time at this event and I look forward to next year!

HollyShorts 2022 Line-up!

The annual Academy Awards® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival is back and has announced their line-up for the 18th Annual event! Every year the festival gets bigger and better than the last, with an amazing stacked line-up of films to present over ten days of screenings. HollyShorts (HSFF) brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers.

The festival will run from August 11th to August 20th at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, as well as online: Bitpix. The festivities will be one of the most high profile yet!

Over 400 films on display this year, this is set to be one of the most diverse slates yet, with over 5000 entries, 161 female directors and 101 BIPOC directors among the films from this year’s program. A press release was sent out announcing the selections for the 18th annual festival and the incredible films that are leading the way.

For the full list of films, be sure to check out the official selection page, on the official Hollyshorts website.

OSCAR® Winners and Filmmaking Legends headline HollyShorts Film Festival’s 18th Film Festival Opening Night

Filmmakers and stars include double OSCAR® winner Ben Proudfoot, British legend Sir Steve McQueen, Academy Award® winner Travon Free, Jamie Lee Curtis and Gemma Arterton

HollyShorts Opening Night Line-up on August 11, 7:30pm

HollyShorts OSCAR®-qualifying film festival does it again with an impressive opening night line-up featuring Sir Steve McQueen's prostate cancer documentary EMBARRASSED which stars Idris Elba who shares “the stats are shocking”, fellow star Morgan Freeman insists “get on your duff, and go and get your exam”, and Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE adds “it’s really important to get the message out there”. Double OSCAR® winner Ben Proudfoot’s MINK! tells the story of Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Rory Keenan’s BUMP stars British fan favorite Gemma Arterton, Frank Chi’s 38 AND THE GARDEN is produced by OSCAR® winner Travon Free and revisits an Asian American athlete’s story. Mike Kearby’s comedy THE PROBLEM WITH TIME TRAVEL touches on climate change, whilst Tara Westwood’s TRIGGERED stars Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Law and Order’s SVU Robert John Burke. Coral Amiga’s CROSSHAIRS shares the story of two boys whose friendship is derailed, whilst Evan Miller’s THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS all-star cast includes Adrianne Palicki and Zachary Levi.

The Epic/Dread Horror Program opens with Kelsey Bollig’s KICKSTART MY HEART, Russell Goldman’s RETURN TO SENDER starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Allison Tolman. Alexandra Magistro’s LOVE YOU, MAMA starring Madeleine Arthur (ABC’s The Family), Samantha Sloyan(Midnight Mass) and Matt Biedel (Midnight Mass). More exciting films in this strand include Alexander Thompson’s BLACK DRAGON (Rồng đen), Kantu Lentz’s COCHE BOMBA and Nuhash Humayun’s MOSHARI.

HollyShorts films will be online,

Opening Night: https://bitpixtv.news/2022/08/08/hollyshorts-2022-opening-night-august-11th-highlights-q-a-with-kelsey-bollig/

Day Two: https://bitpixtv.news/2022/08/08/hollyshorts-2022-day-2-august-12th-highlights-q-a-with-rylee-ebsen/

Day Three: https://bitpixtv.news/2022/08/08/hollyshorts-2022-day-3-august-13th-highlights-qa-with-sarah-kaskas/

Day Four: https://bitpixtv.news/2022/08/08/hollyshorts-2022-day-4-august-14th-highlights-q-a-with-grace-sloan/

Day Five: https://bitpixtv.news/2022/08/08/hollyshorts-2022-day-5-august-15th-highlights-q-a-with-tiffany-frances/

To view the full list of official selections visit:  https://hollyshorts.com/official_selections_2022

HollyShorts screenings will take place from August 11-20 at TLC Chinese Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. 3rd Level, Hollywood, CA, 90028, followed by the annual awards gala on August 20.