“Ashima” By Dillon M. Banda
Synopsis
“Ashima” follows Natacha Maboma, a young Cameroonian-American woman who, at the time of making the film, had been living and traveling abroad in Asia for 3 years. Whilst visiting Hong Kong for the first time, Natacha reflects on the experience of being a young woman - and specifically, a black woman - living away from home and traveling the world on her own. “Ashima” was filmed across the Hong Kong islands before the COVID-19 pandemic and also before the pro-democracy protests.
Credits
Director - Dillon M. Banda
Cinematographer - Dillon M. Banda
Narration - Natacha Maboma
Editor - Sean Cunningham
Sound Design - IYO
Score - Hotel Neon
Production Assistance - Van Ngoc Dang
Produced by SoundChips & Dillon & Co
Beyond the Short
“I’d first like to say a few words about Natacha, who has impressed me so much with the life that she’s forged for herself. At the end of our film, she declares (spoiler alert) that she’s ready to return to Cameroon, and do her best to show the world just how special and beautiful the country of her origin is. Not many people ever follow through on exactly what they say they’ll do, but she has, and it’s a true testament to who she is as a person - her focus, her drive, her integrity.
When Natacha and I first sat down to discuss the possibility of making ‘Ashima’, the world was a very different place. Watching the film now and thinking back to when and how we made it, I actually feel somewhat taken aback at just how drastically the world has since changed. To those of us that may be feeling confined, restricted or frustrated in this bizarre and difficult moment, I hope that ‘Ashima’ can perhaps serve as a beacon of hope for a time when the world will be open once again.
And to my fellow black, brown and African brothers and sisters, I hope that this film can maybe send the message that the world is ours too, and that no matter how much “they” - whosoever “they” may be - try to limit us or keep us down, we are as free and as entitled as anyone else to go beyond our own borders, and to not only exist in the world but to explore it as well, to own it. The world is ours. All of us, equally."
“Ashima” was submitted to us by Dillon M. Banda. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!