For the last year, we have been excited for the upcoming fantasy film Yamasong: March of the Hollows. Featuring the voice talents of George Takei, Whoopi Goldberg, Freida Pinto, and other top names in Hollywood, Yamasong — from director Sam Koji Hale — looks to revitalize the fantasy puppet movie genre. So it is very exciting to present this NOC exclusive behind-the-scenes video spotlighting the women who are bringing the world of Yamasong to life!

In the video, you will see the women — in roles as producers, artists, and performers — and people of color who are bringing their strengths in diversity to the film.

“A lot of the power in Yamasong’s story and aesthetic comes from the diversity we have in our cast and crew,” said producer Mallory O’Meara. “This film is about the struggle to hold on to your own identity while an overwhelming force attempts to strip it away. Marginalized voices fight this battle in the arts every day. From the costumes, to the story, to the characters, Yamasong: March of the Hollows was a chance for us to make a type of film that people don’t normally get to see.”

“The upcoming feature film in many ways expresses the voices of the marginalized — women and people of color,” added the movie’s director Sam Koji Hale. “Both on camera and behind the scenes, this film expresses the ‘outsider’ voice in a tale of two races fighting against an imperialist invader and their choices to join or resist. Yamasong at heart is a story of strength in diversity.”

The movie tells the tale of an automaton girl and a tortoise as they search for a relic to save their world from an encroaching army of mechanical men. Characters from different clans must join forces to stop the conversion of the world’s creatures into machines. The Hollow girl Nani (Abigail Breslin) has to stand up to her mother the queen (Whoopi Goldberg) to save the organic creatures of the world of Yamasong. Shojun (Nathan Fillion) is a rogue tortoise fighter and allies himself with Geta (Freida Pinto) of the ramlike race, his people’s perennial enemy.

The screenplay was written by World Fantasy Award winning editor and novelist Ekaterina Sedia. Yamasong is backed by a pair of executive producers with impressive puppeteering pedigrees — Heather Henson, the daughter of Jim Henson, and Toby Froud, the son of Brian Froud. It is scored by Shoji Kameda, of the modern taiko group On Ensemble.

The film features live action puppetry, making Yamasong: March of the Hollows a ground-breaking contemporary feature film.

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