Kite (also called A Kite) is a 2014 South African action film directed by Ralph Ziman, based on the 1998 anime of the same name by Yasuomi Umetsu. The film stars India Eisley, Callan McAuliffe and Samuel L. Jackson.
Society has degenerated into a slum where people have taken to kidnapping children and selling them to flesh cartels. A young woman named Sawa (India Eisley) has been pretending to be a prostitute in order to kill some of the cartel leaders, ultimately trying to reach the main leader, Emir, who had killed her parents. After a kill, she finds she needs to relax by taking a drug called “Amp”, which also wipes her memories.
A live action adaptation of Kite was reported to be in various stages of pre-production for a number of years, with American film director Rob Cohen attached as either director or producer. The film, which takes place in a post-financial collapse corrupt society, follows a girl who tries to track down her father’s killer with help from his ex-partner. The content of the live action film is expected to be toned down from the original OVA. On 2 September 2011, David R. Ellis was hired to direct the remake. On 17 December 2012, Samuel L. Jackson announced that he was the first actor to join the cast of Ellis’s Kite, with filming taking place in Johannesburg. Ellis died on 7 January 2013, before shooting started. On 3 February 2013, Ralph Ziman took over as director of the film; actors India Eisley and Callan McAuliffe subsequently joined the cast.