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Wa Na Wari and Sankofa Film Society bring you an evening of films by Gabrielle Tesafye: The Water Will Carry Us Home and My Love, Ethiopia. Immediately after the films please join us for a talk back with filmmaker Gabrielle Tesfaye and Zola Mumford.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86868286430?pwd=Y0pQSER2ME9sQ3o0UkRrQkZ0aitWQT09 Meeting ID: 868 6828 6430 Passcode: StopMotion |
The Water Will Carry Us Home
IT ALL STARTED WHEN…
Middle passage. Slave ship. Orishas. Mermaids.
Through living ritual and stop motion animation, The Water Will Carry Us Home tells the story of stolen Africans who are thrown off a slave ship whilst sailing through the Middle Passage. Upon falling into the sea, the unimaginable happens when mermaids, who dwell in these waters, save their spirits.
My Love Ethiopia
Set during the time of the Red Terror war in 1970’s in Ethiopia, the country’s political tyranny has created huge population of refugees searching for an escape. Based on a true story, Yene Fikir, Ethiopia, meaning ‘My Love, Ethiopia’, follows the turbulent and mystical journey of a young girl searching for freedom after being separated from her family. As she embarks on a painful migration through the scorching desert, magical guardian angels are sent to aid her by a mysterious and ancient Goddess in the skies, holding the secret to heal her homeland. With the presence of her angels, and the power of her magical krar, she discovers hidden powers within herself she was unaware of before.
IT ALL STARTED WHEN…
Middle passage. Slave ship. Orishas. Mermaids.
Through living ritual and stop motion animation, The Water Will Carry Us Home tells the story of stolen Africans who are thrown off a slave ship whilst sailing through the Middle Passage. Upon falling into the sea, the unimaginable happens when mermaids, who dwell in these waters, save their spirits.
My Love Ethiopia
Set during the time of the Red Terror war in 1970’s in Ethiopia, the country’s political tyranny has created huge population of refugees searching for an escape. Based on a true story, Yene Fikir, Ethiopia, meaning ‘My Love, Ethiopia’, follows the turbulent and mystical journey of a young girl searching for freedom after being separated from her family. As she embarks on a painful migration through the scorching desert, magical guardian angels are sent to aid her by a mysterious and ancient Goddess in the skies, holding the secret to heal her homeland. With the presence of her angels, and the power of her magical krar, she discovers hidden powers within herself she was unaware of before.
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Gabrielle will also offer a Cultural Puppet Making and Stop-motion Animation Workshop
Saturday, September 26th at 12:00pm Workshop Link Meeting ID: 840 8745 9743 Passcode: Puppet In this workshop participants will create their own paper made puppet characters, inspired from the magical mermaids of Gabrielle Tesfaye’s “The Water Will Carry Us Home”. The mermaids will then be brought to life through learning the process of Stop-motion animation. Participants will need: Paper, pencil, marker/crayons, sticky tack, scissors Additional useful supplies: phone or tablet with downloaded (free) Stop motion App. Wa Na Wari will be offering supplies for those that request it. To request supplies email wanawariseattle@gmail.com |
Gabrielle Tesfaye is an interdisciplinary artist versed in painting, animation, film, puppetry and interactive installation. Tesfaye is raised in the USA as a first-generation, to an Ethiopian father and mixed-heritage Jamaican mother. Her extensive international travel and exposure to multiculturalism in her life, echoes itself in her mixed media approach to art making and cross-cultural content. Her research is rooted in African diaspora, Afro-futurism, ancient puppetry practices and cultural storytelling. Tesfaye uses the body as a vessel to personify ancestral culture, transforming ancient symbolism into contemporary languages. Tesfaye puts herself into her work, often creating self portraits which navigate her own identity and place within the diaspora. Outside of exhibiting 2d works, she uses these puppets in the animation studio, creating personal and cultural narrative films. Her background in film started at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and continued at the Mahidol University International College in Bangkok, Thailand. Tesfaye obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Peck School of the Arts, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Heavily involved in the exhibition installation process of her work, she masters the alchemy of turning the traditional art gallery space into an otherworldly experience for viewers to experience her work beyond the physical. Tesfaye has been internationally recognized in online and printed publications such as Majestic Disorder Magazine (UK) and Vogue (USA). Tesfaye has exhibited at The Crypt Gallery (London), Gallery X (Dublin), Thapae East Venue for Creative Arts (Thailand), Stony Island Arts Bank (Chicago), and Aaron Davis Hall City College (New York). She is the recipient of a series of scholarships and awards, including two Frederick R. Layton Scholarships, the Robert A. Nelson Film Scholarship, G.M.F Dorothy & Ruth Smith Fund Scholarship, Brico Forward Fund, Cream City Cinema College Filmmaker Award, and Mary Nohl Suitcase Export Fund. Tesfaye has participated in multiple artist residencies including Tholpavakoothu Puppetry Theatre in Kerala, India, Art Residency Thailand in Chiang Mai, and Artists Working in Education, in Milwaukee. Within her teaching experience, Tesfaye has explored the use of cultural storytelling and puppetry as community public art. Tesfaye is currently expanding with her art through international travel, film and guest speaking at schools, universities and artistic organizations.
About Zola Mumford:
Zola Mumford is a reference librarian at North Seattle College and Curator of the Seattle Black Film Festival, a program of Langston Seattle. This program includes a competitive international call for films, as well as collaboration and outreach to independent filmmakers and local arts and education organizations. Her professional background includes film, TV, and arts production; historical research; and preservation work with film and print materials in university and private film and art archives.
Sankofa Film Society:
Sankofa Film Society is a catalyst for discussion and connection through film. We believe in the power of stories to build our collective presence and expand our memory. Sankofa Film Society is also the Seattle home for films from ARRAY, the independent distribution company founded by Ava DuVernay.
About Zola Mumford:
Zola Mumford is a reference librarian at North Seattle College and Curator of the Seattle Black Film Festival, a program of Langston Seattle. This program includes a competitive international call for films, as well as collaboration and outreach to independent filmmakers and local arts and education organizations. Her professional background includes film, TV, and arts production; historical research; and preservation work with film and print materials in university and private film and art archives.
Sankofa Film Society:
Sankofa Film Society is a catalyst for discussion and connection through film. We believe in the power of stories to build our collective presence and expand our memory. Sankofa Film Society is also the Seattle home for films from ARRAY, the independent distribution company founded by Ava DuVernay.