Through the inner monologue of a child of African immigrants, the film brings us originally and poetically to the heart of the
identity journey of diaspora children. This psychic and cultural voyage is both intimate and political, subjective and collective, and is presented to the viewer as the public disclosure of a whole world, apart, although shared, with its pride and references, but also its scars and open wounds. Community healing and historical memories’ reconciliation then emerge in parallel with the demand for a politically and symbolically enlightened recognition of the past as well as a reformation of Euro-African relations in the post-colonial era.
Continuing her sociological and documentary work, with Children of the Diaspora (2024), the Italo-Cameroonian 26-year old director, Sabrina Onana, invites Afro-pean youth to fully embrace their Africanness in a diasporic context, while also thriving in their cross-cultural heritage in a world marked by resentment and division. Past, present and future then appear as spaces-times in which Afro-descendant youth are called upon to take root while also refusing to remain locked in them.
Finally, rather than bearing the weight and wounds of history, experiencing life on the margins, in displacement, or even uprooted, is presented as an opportunity to ask questions that, beyond the identity or color mask, touch on its deepest the nerve centre of human existence.
Sociologist, documentary filmmaker and CEO of the clothing brand Vêtue d’Art (www.vetue-dart.com), Sabrina Onana is a 26 year-old independent artist.
Her work confirms her interest in major contemporary societal issues, placing her know-how at the crossroads of research, journalism, art and culture.
She directed her first documentary series on Afro-Italian in 2018, entitled “Crossing the color line”. After a year of screenings in different Italian cities, the two-part documentary has been screened internationally and awarded at the Dikalo Awards of the Cannes International Pan-African Film Festival (jury’s favorite documentary), as well as at the Cannes World Film Festival (Best Black Culture Film) and at the Various Artists Independent Film Festival. Her latest documentary movie “I am black, I am beautiful” (2023) explores the impact of westernized beauty standards (rooted in colorism, texturism and misogynoir) on black women. The movie has been screened worldwide and also received international awards, notably at the Rencontres cinématographiques de Sya (best documentary film from the diaspora), the Hamilton Black Film Festival (best documentary film with social impact), the Kalakari Film Festival Awards and the Africa Usa International Film Festival.
