The Kitchen

Netflix

The Kitchen, the Netflix UK Original, and winner of two prestigious BIFA Awards (British Independent Film Awards) for Best Effects and Best Production Design, is set against the backdrop of a dystopian future in London. Directed by renowned actor Daniel Kaluuya in his directorial debut, alongside director Kibwe Tavares, of Robot & Scarecrow.

The film spotlights the gentrification of London. The Kitchen, the last remaining public housing complex, shelters its defiant impoverished residents who grapple with the constant fear of utility cutoffs, and face police intimidation as well as eviction.

At the heart of the story is the unusual dynamic between Izi (Kane “Kano” Robinson”) and 12-year-old Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) that begins at “Life after Life” where Izi works. A company that composts those who have passed on into fertiliser as their families are unable to afford the conventional funeral option. As Benji deals with the loss of his mother, the film delves into the struggles of residents. The Kitchen offers a nuanced exploration of societal challenges. We see Izi step into unfamiliar territory; initially portrayed as a self-sufficient, and “I am just trying to survive and make it out alive” character. Izi’s role transforms as he takes on the responsibility “of a father” for Benji.

This project was a remarkable bridge, connecting talent across the globe (UK, South Africa, France, India and Canada) and fostering collaborative energy that transcends geographical divides.

To build the grungy worn-out world of The Kitchen, Chocolate Tribe worked on over 250 VFX shots, such as large 3D city scape set extensions, 2D/3D holographic advertisements, animated drones and rendered future-inspired vehicles, as well as many detailed 3D city assets (such as construction sites and the futuristic buildings).

The tools used on this production were Autodesk Maya, Arnold, Foundry Nuke, Substance Painter, Ftrack, DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Redshift, Unreal Engine, Houdini and Adobe Creative Cloud. The film highlights heavily the structural and architectural look of the block of apartments in The Kitchen (Les Damiers, which were filmed in Paris, France), which required over 100 assets to be sculpted and modelled.

We are proud to have been part of this amazing project. Congratulations to the entire team; behind the scenes and in front of the camera.

The Kitchen is currently ranked number 3 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 and has garnered wide positive reviews from audiences globally. The Kitchen premiered on Netflix on the 19th of January 2024.

Director: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavaris
Writers: Daniel Kaluuya, Joe Murtagh, Amy Baty
Executive Producer: Michael Fassbender, David Kimbangi, Ollie Madden, Connor McCaughan
Producer: Kareen Adeshina, Theo Barrowclough, Daniel Emmerson, Daniel Kaluuya, Angus Lamont, Steve Newton
Editing: Maya Maffioli, Christian Sandino-Taylor
Cinematography: Wyatt Garfield

VFX Company: Chocolate Tribe
VFX Supervisor: Rob van den Bragt
Executive Producer: Nosipho Maketo – van den Bragt
Head of Production: Rob van den Bragt
Senior VFX Producer: Tracy-lee Portnoi
VFX Producer: Nikki Maistry
VFX Production Co-ordinator: Katlego Makhudu
3D Supervisor: Tiaan Franken
3D Artists: Fumani Hlungwane, Glenn Ewan, Grant Steyn, Kyle Sibanda, Lloyd Bisschoff, Mpho Vukea, Tanaka Musewe, Taija Hartwig, Taryn Jordan, Tegan Theron, Samantha Visser, Thezi Ndhlazi
Lead Compositor: Johan Wentzel
Compositors: Alistair Johnson, Angelo Collinicos, Graeme Armstrong, Jaron Clegg, Jean du Plessis, Jaco Kraamwinkel, Novak Miler, Sam Alessandri, Sven Hohmeier
Digital Matte Painting: Michael Howard
IT Support: Aqeel Abba
Legal: Nosipho Maketo – van den Bragt
3D Tracking: Glenn Ewan, Tegan Theron, Jaron Clegg, Alekh Kumar Singh, Gagan Deep, Prakash Chand, Md Azal
Roto Business Head: Abhishek Kumar
Roto Producer: Bosky Palan
Roto HOD: Prashant Sakpal
Roto Project Manager: Sushmit Daware
Roto Coordinator: Deepak Bhatt, Hanumant Pawar
Roto QC: Deepak Chadhokar, Shashank Tandle
Roto Supervisor: Prathamesh Gaikwad, Abhay Vibhute, Prashant Jadhav
Roto Lead: Nazim Patel, Bhavesh Jadhav, Ritesh Jagtap, Tushar Phadtare, Dipak Mandhare, Rahul Choudhari
Roto Artist: Amol Pagare, Shweta Patil, Vikas Yadav, Piu Dutta, Khushal Pardeshi, Asmita Kadam, Shashikant Gaikwad, Priya More, Sagar Khairnar, Sudarshan Sawant, Rajkumar Shakya, Arun Kurbetti, Sunil Chauhan, Jaywant Thakur, Ajay Shirsath, Pranav More, Rahul Pal, Ranjeet Mane, Vijay Bogale, Rahul Birajdar, Bharat Deve, Rohit Shelar, Indrajeet Sharma, Dipak Pisal, Sainath Nadavane, Omkar Patil, Swapnil Barje, Pravin Birajdar, Prathamesh Angre, Ajay Karmale, Girish Parab, Pankaj Chavan, Anil Gavde, Ashraf Shaikh, Pranav Dhadave, Miraj Ali Khan, Rahul Patil, Bhimashankar Birajdar, Imran Khan, Sushant Phadtare, Chetan Gawade, Vijay Lohar, Chandrakant Patil, Swapnil Panchal, Kunal Gaikwad, Sunil Mohite, Rahul Phadke, Amir Sangde, Kamlesh Gupta, Amar Sable, Shubham Shetti, Mayur Patil, Manohar Rathod, Ganesh Bhosle, Sushant Gaikwad, Omkar Bhosale, Rajesh Singh, Tushar Bijam, Mayur Madhekar, Akshay Bhavsar