From Ashes We Rise- The Trailer

I spent 6 months in Guyana, South America between November 2017 and May 2018. I had for some time felt a pressure and a need to know who I was and where I belonged, a pressure that reached a climax during my year and a half of living in Spain, where on a daily basis my Britishness was challenged as I was not in simple terms 'white'. Very often individuals would attempt to convince me that I was an 'African in denial' or one would face blasé racism. Constantly being 'othered' was a challenge that was not unique to life in Spain, but was very much part of my life in England. The question 'where are you really from?' was one that used to puzzle me as a young child, as I was in my mind quite simply from Brixton in London. Here I am, a child of a father born in England at a time when his Guyanese parents would have still been British subjects and a mother who had migrated from Guyana, as citizen of the now independent country. A descendant of African slaves forced across the Atlantic for the sake of profits; a descendent of Europeans; a descendant of East Indian indentured labourers who came to Guyana to replace the freed slaves; and lastly a descendent of the indigenous peoples who once flourished before the arrival of the Europeans – here I am constantly having to prove myself as being part of Britain or even Europe. The irony is incredible – it left me with a feeling of not belonging anywhere! I was neither Guyanese nor British just someone in limbo. Spending that time in Guyana and reconnecting with my family helped me to clarify my sense of self and gave me what I had longed for – a sense of belonging.

In Spain a wise woman told me:

'You need to go back to where your immediate ancestors are from, you need to uncover the roots that you think you don't have, because in reality, everyone belongs somewhere'

She was able to tell me so simply what it was that was stagnating me! What it was that had taken such a a disproportionate form in my narrative, that it was now stagnating me profoundly. My journey to Guyana freed me of this sense of loss and I found myself freer of the overgrown vines of confusion, that had dominated me before.

I met the Martiniquan/Guyanese Artist Elodie Cage-Smith, who had moved to her husband's birth country and was exploring the collective Caribbean identity and the legacy of slavery through her artwork. I felt a pressing need to do something with her. She was working on a collection eventually named after the film 'From Ashes We Must Rise' which conveyed the message:

'Out of pain, suffering and destruction something new and joyful can be born, if only we keep moving forward'

United by our foreign accents in Guyana, and our exploration of identity we decided to make a short film together – something neither of us had ever done before. It was an incredible challenge – We sought to explore how narratives and stories, whether fictional of historical can shape us. How they can take on disproportionate forms that live in our collective memories as well as individual narratives, and in some cases, effectively hinder growth.

I hope you enjoy the trailer and please do look out for the film!

Here is the bio for the short film- From Ashes We Rise:

The film is a narrative exploration of how history and the stories we tell ourselves dominate the shaping of our identities. Through the film the artists seek to take you on a universal journey that encourages introspection and conversation about the past, present and future.