FILM: Fuego ( February 25 Launch )

An original short film by Christine Rodríguez

Poster design - Nalo Soyini Bruce

SYNOPSIS:

Lonely, isolated and disconnected from his roots, Manolo is an Afro-Cuban man who has reached a low point in his life. While his boss denigrates him constantly, Manolo finds hope after a chance meeting in the community centre where he works.

Seul, isolé et déconnecté de ses racines, Manolo est un homme Afro-cubain qui a touché le fond dans sa vie. Alors que son patron cherche à constamment l’humilier, Manolo retrouve espoir suite à une rencontre au centre communautaire dans lequel il travaille.

Solo, aislado y desconectado de sus raíces, Manolo es un hombre afrocubano que tocó fondo en su vida. Aunque su jefe lo denigra constantemente, Manolo halla la esperanza después de un encuentro inesperado en el centro comunitario en el que trabaja.

“Cambia, porque se te va, se te va la vida.”

Fuego is part of the Black Ink mentorship program of Black Wealth Media who will house the film on their website alongside other Black created content.

Fuego fait partie du programme de mentorat de Black Wealth Media qui présentera le film sur leur site web au côté d’autres créations afrocentriques.

Fuego hace parte de un programa de Black Wealth Media que promueve la creación de películas sobre la diáspora africana.

Here are samples of the costume designs:

Visit the facebook page to keep up to date with the production and additional info!

Written, directed and produced by Christine Rodriguez

Starring:

​Danny Blanco-Hall

Daniel Loyer

Davide Chiazzese

Katherine Sideris

Abena Bentley

Director of Photography: Laura Torres

Sound Director, Mixing and Editing: Rob Denton

Art Direction and Design, Poster Design: Nalo Soyini Bruce

Film Editor: Juliette Crytes

Directing Mentor: Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford

Musical Director and Original Music: Giovany Arteaga Valdes

Prodution Manager and Assistant Director: Kiki Dranias

Production Assistant: Imtiyaz Bandali

Co-produced and developed  under the mentorship of Black Ink/Encre Noire by Black Wealth Media.

THEATRE: 11:11

A Theatre Passe Muraille digital production

Written & Performed by Samson Bonkeabantu Brown

Directed by Tsholo Khalema

Where the spirit world and the real-world meet, lies a world unapologetically crafted and performed by critically acclaimed trans identified artist, Samson Bonkeabantu Brown. 11:11 explores the other side of fear through the eyes of a young, Black transman struggling to understand the ancestral messages saturating his dreams.

Poster credit: photo by Dahlia Katz and design by Louis Duarte

Some pages from the design presentation below:

"Wardrobe will be rich with colourful and textured fabrics layered with neutral basics. Costume changes will happen on stage during scene and character transitions. Other costume elements will include masks to illustrate the dialogues between Amandla and the ancestors Gogo and Avo."

Quick change solution: 2 costumes in one!

Silumko transforms into Mum

Behind the scenes look at the building of the ancestral masks:

Materials - recycled brown paper bags, glass beads, rope and burlap

Credits:

Playwright & Performer Samson Bonkeabantu Brown Director Tsholo Khalema

Original Producer Brett Haynes Set & Costume Design by Nalo Soyini Bruce Assistant to Set & Costume Design Lucy Wong Choreographed by Mafa Makhubalo

Lighting Design by Sharmylae Taffe-Fletcher Music by Waleed Abdulahmid Sound Design by River Oliveira Stage Manager Laura Baxter

Digital Producer & Editor Ulla Laidlaw TPM Production Manager Eric Read Technicians Joey Morin, John Cabanela Camera Operators Rinchen Dolma, Shavo Dorjee

THEATRE: Zom Fam

A MAI / Kama La Mackerel Production Dec. 8-12

ZOM-FAM is an intimate solo performance by Kama La Mackerel that combines poetry, storytelling and dance. At once personal and political, ZOM-FAM (meaning “man-woman” in Mauritian Kreol) narrates the story of a gender-creative child growing up in the 80s and 90s on the plantation island of Mauritius. Multiply-voiced and imbued with complex storytelling, ZOM-FAM interweaves narratives that bring together ancestral voices, femme tongues, broken colonial languages and a tender queer subjectivity, all of which are grappling with the legacy of plantation servitude. ⠀

Solo intimiste de Kama La Mackerel, ZOM-FAM, combine poésie, conte et danse. À la fois personnel et politique, ZOM-FAM (qui signifie « homme-femme » en kreol mauricien) est le récit d’un·e enfant transgenre vivant sur une plantation de canne à sucre à l’île Maurice pendant les années 1980-90. Maniant une multitude de voix et imprégnée d’une narration complexe, ZOM-FAM mêle invocations ancestrales, langues maternelles, débris de langages coloniaux et une subjectivité queer et délicate, dans un contexte d’esclavage et d’engagisme.

Shots from the workroom:

Shots from the tech residency:

Credits in Kama's beautiful words:

"Mathieu Leroux- dramaturge extraordinaire, attentive reader of languages beyond words • Jon Cleveland- magic maker, multi-dimensional creator, technical genius • Nalo Soyini- visionary with fingers of a fairy that turns everything into gold • Evan Stepanian- talented composer, creator of worlds with the ears of sorcerer • Rhodenie Desir- tu m'as permis de trouver & d'exprimer le corps spirituel dans mon œuvre. tu as complètement transformé ma vie • Andrew Tay- divine mover & shaker, dedicated community-worker & remarkable choreographer who breathed life back into my dancing body • Michael Fanfan- gifted visionary with a heart of gold • Sophie Gee- mentor with eyes that wash away illusions • Josh Marchesini- superstar assistant, stage manager, production manager who is always willing to take a risk to learn, to grow, to become."