The University of Connecticut digital media and design program continued their virtual “Diverse Perspectives in Digital Media & Design Speaker Series” with Thato Mwosa, an independent filmmaker, illustrator, writer and creative. On Feb. 4, it was streamed on YouTube from a Zoom call.
DMD and human rights professor-in-residence Catherine Masud introduced Mwosa, detailing how prolific she is as a creative. For example, in addition to her films and screenplay writings, Mwosa released a card game about African culture.
Her goal as an artist is to “explore the complex experiences of Black women in the United States while also bringing to light the stories of women in Africa” to bring more accurate representations of Black people and Black culture.
Mwosa shared a presentation where she talks about her filmography and inspirations for creating. She expressed an interest in coming-of-age films, films on the Black diaspora and films on youth.
One of Mwosa’s central inspirations is the late Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. Mwosa said he focused on “capturing the everyday life of working-class Africans beyond predictable stereotypes,” and that he is lauded as “the grandfather of African film.”
Mwosa realized the importance of controlling the narrative instead of having others tell the story likely in disingenuous and inaccurate ways. “I realized I had the power to tell my own stories,” she said. “In my writing, I confront outdated misrepresentations of Africa, its people and the diaspora here in the United States.”
Mwosa tackles many important themes in her films, including violence against women, gender and sexual identity, mental health and bullying. She also represented the Black community in a less stereotypical way. For example, she shot a film in Roxbury, Mass., a predominantly Black neighborhood in Boston.
“There is a negative perception of Black towns,” said Mwosa, who expressed an interest in filming in Black-owned businesses. “It was a lovely experience filming in Roxbury.”
However, Mwosa was disappointed that a Nelson Mandela mural was taken down in the Roxbury area a few months after filming and was still not repainted to this day, despite promises.
Back on the topic of her films, Mwosa wants to represent the experience of Black immigrants. She highlighted how she made a character in her film have a Caribbean accent, but didn’t specify which part of the Caribbean she is from so that more people could identify with her.
The first film aired was streamed on Vimeo and called “Stay Here With Me.” Spoilers for the film will be in the next paragraphs.
The movie begins with a girl named Tiana who, under her mother’s supervision, takes a pill. Tiana puts that same pill in the toilet and flushes it instead of swallowing it. She dresses up in a cute pink dress with a flower in her hair. Noah, her lover, is dressed in a fancy suit and gives her another pink flower. They enjoy nature together, walking outside in the greenery.
They eventually dance with beautiful acoustic guitar playing in the background. There is a scene which portrays the mother as controlling over her daughter. The lovers cloud gaze on a picnic blanket when Noah expresses a desire to elope with Tiana. The mother finds Tiana and tries to get her to take her medication.
“He doesn’t exist. It’s your mind playing tricks on you,” said the mother. Tiana takes her pill and the man fades away. The screen fades to white and the film ends with credits.
The second and final movie screened was “Temple,” a film about a young girl’s body image issues that were taken to an extreme. If you want to avoid spoilers, skip the upcoming paragraphs.
The movie begins with two girls, Valerie and Bianca, hanging out in a bedroom when Bianca tells Valerie, “starve yourself in the morning, do some squats and you should be fine,” regarding Valerie’s stomach. Taking this terrible and maladaptive advice to heart, Valerie researches how many calories are in the food her mother made, and then insists she is not hungry and will only eat a salad.
The mother asks if anything happened at school. The girl then has a text exchange with people online who body shame her for wearing a crop top. She purges her food and is almost caught. Valerie’s sister, Vivian, catches her taking weight loss pills. Valerie insults Vivian, referencing a hateful message from online. Vivian tries to empower her sister by complimenting her.
Vivian shares a picture of Valerie online and respondents say all positive things about her appearance.
“This is just public opinion. What matters is what you think of yourself,” said Vivian. The sisters then hug. Valerie goes to the party with confidence in her stride and drops Bianca as a friend, who was upset that Valerie chose to wear that outfit. Bianca’s opinion no longer matters to Valerie.
After the screenings of the films, digital media and design undergraduate students Ally Hopper and Ben Boucher led a Q&A session where they asked Mwosa about her thoughts and process in the creation of her art.
“I was tasked with making four films with four different organizations and it was over the course of one-and-a-half years,” said Mwosa. “Temple” was the last film to be produced in the series of four with an all-girls organization in middle school.
Before teaching at Emerson College, Mwosa said, “I was teaching high school for a long, long time.” She said there was a “mental health crisis in the youth,” noting that her high school students were battling mental illness.
For the movie “Stay Here With Me,” Mwosa said wanted to represent mental illness in a non-judgemental way because she has family with bipolar disorder.
As Mwosa continued to speak about her experiences in filmmaking, it became apparent how much meticulous effort went into producing the films. Film is expensive—the most expensive artform according to Mwosa—but despite the barriers, it is possible to make films, especially in the Internet age when most people have cellphones that can be used to film footage. Mwosa was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic to have her students film with their phones.
Furthermore, she said, “I say this to my students all the time: You are in college, you have access to expensive things” and talent in the student body can “come together and make that short film for free.”
“My priority is teaching, but my other priority is writing [and] filmmaking,” said Mwosa, who makes time to write on most Fridays. “I’ve found some success as an illustrator. Sometimes I’m exhausted and all I want to do is draw.”
Mwosa talked about what it’s like being a Black woman filmmaker. She is a mother and the average filmmaker’s schedule isn’t that friendly to those who have families to nurture. “I’m always looking for women who find ways to do it no matter what because it’s not easy being a female director,” she said.
Additionally, Mwosa talked about her shame in her old works, claiming, “My first film, I cannot look at that. I cannot watch it because it was made in 2005.”
“How do I not lose the audience? How do you make it creative? How do you make it engaging?” asked Mwosa. She said it is boring to be strictly educational.
“I’m not Hollywood. I study from afar,” commented Mwosa on her position as an independent filmmaker. “We rely on grants as a filmmaker [to fund the projects].”
The stream ended abruptly due to time constraints, but Mwosa’s films resonated with me and made me feel seen, almost making me cry due to how relatable they were. Thank you for sharing your art with this world, Thato Mwosa.