SCREEN TIME
FROM THE SMALL TO BIG SCREEN, HERE ARE YOUR JUNE ON-SCREEN ESSENTIALS ON THE BOX
ICON IN THE MAKING Visibly Invisible TWO YEARS ON FROM HER DOCUMENTARY SOMALINIMO, MIRIAM BALANESCU MEETS UP WITH AWA FARAH
in Somalinimo , commissioned by The Guardian . “We spent the first year and a half talking through, trying to get funding. It did take a bit of time thinking about what exactly we wanted to create,” Awa says. She had wanted to crack into the film industry for years, although understanding that she may have to take the long route, unlike her privileged peers. “I had to work part-time and save up to buy a camera,” she says. “I didn’t have the luxury to go straight
wa Farah’s debut film opens with a Somali proverb: “Either be visible or be absent.” This theme of visibility is one she unwinds throughout an examination of four British-Somali women’s experiences at the University of Cambridge: their conspicuous lack (black students totalled just 3% of the student population in 2020) and, paradoxically, how they stand out. Emerging from her research on the UK
into filmmaking – it’s really inaccessible.” Instead choosing to follow a writing path, Awa first tried fashion journalism, then found her footing in academia. “Writing was the
Somali diaspora in 2018, then a photo series on Somali women, film – which she had studied as a module of her journalism degree – felt like the right mode of
I GET TO DO WHAT I LOVE THE MOST
expression. “When Somali people have been talked about in the West and the UK, it’s often been this other type of documentary where it’s very serious. “It never felt like I saw my people depicted in a beautiful way,” Awa says, “which was unlike how I had grown up, because there’s a culture that’s so vibrant. I thought it was ironic that my idea of Somali people is so different from the perception of others.” Together with director Alice Aedy, the two-year-long project culminated
opposite of filmmaking. It was so accessible – I could sit anywhere and write. It seemed to be the best way to get my thoughts out,” she says. Now darting between a PhD and filmmaking – she is part of the production team for an upcoming BBC documentary and writing another short film – life is very busy. “The two are balancing me out, because research is independent and can be lonely,” Awa says. “Whereas with filmmaking, I get to do what I love the most, which is collaborating with people and working together to bring something we’re passionate about to fruition.” Pointing toward Finnish-Somali filmmaker Khadar Ahmed and screenings at Copenhagen Film Festivals, Awa has high hopes for the future of storytelling. “There needs to be more backing for these films, because they do so well when they are created. They just need to have the platform and money. Often, the ones who are left behind are people from marginalised backgrounds. Those communities need to be given a voice because, without that, we would never get an authentic representation of their lives and cultures.”
BALANCING ACT Awa has built up extensive experience writing and producing content – all while pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge
20 JUNE 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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