photos by Bertrand N Augustin
They believe everybody has a story – and they’re most certainly right. Usually, it starts with no budget, no experience, set deadline, a clear goal, and a dream to make art that speaks volumes.
At the Nosakhari Film Festival, which took place alongside London Fashion Week, we witnessed seven short-form films. All were completely different from each other, yet they shared the same perspective on travel, on life, and on the journey itself. The contrasts between the movies somehow connected them altogether, showing how stories can speak to ordinary people.
The first movie screened at this year’s edition of the festival was The Wait (directed by Nolt Vutthisak), a one-minute piece about the pandemic reality we all found ourselves in. It showed a seemingly mundane activity – microwaving a dish, usually associated with boredom – as a moment of creativity, of unleashing one’s potential, of surprising oneself, or even reconnecting with roots and childhood dreams.
I especially liked A Single Life (directed by Job, Joris & Marieke), the animated movie which made the entire audience gasp, laugh, and ultimately reflect on the short journey that life is.
photos by Bertrand N Augustin
The film Fathers (directed by Dumas Haddad) highlighted a very important issue: becoming a father, and how stepping into a sensitive, caring father figure role doesn’t necessarily interfere with being masculine. Men are usually portrayed as strong and unattainable, but this movie – inspired by the real-life experiences of the director – showed otherwise. When asked, he said he felt very lonely and misunderstood on his journey to fatherhood.
Another movie, Travel Well (directed by Nosa Osadolor, founder of Nosakhari), told the story of movement, creation, and process. He highlighted that whether he is making films or crafting leather goods – for which his brand is widely known – what matters to him is excellence and the process of becoming. No matter which position he holds, or which hat he is wearing, he still wants to be part of the process. As he put it himself: he would be all right with being a cleaner on set, as long as he could witness and be part of creation.
The director of the Nigerian film RAPT (Akinola Davies Jr.) couldn’t be with us in London during Fashion Week, as he was premiering his new movie at a film festival in Nigeria, where he is from. His film portrayed the livelihood of Nigerian villagers – people who fought, laughed, struggled, and, first and foremost, lived their lives.
We also saw LAYERS (directed by Mathieu Ajan), an abstract exploration of vulnerability through the intertwined lives of two characters. It offered a poetic meditation on love, fragility, and the human need for connection. Ajan admitted during the panel that his main inspiration for this movie was his own struggle with eczema and relentlessness to being seen without our extra “layers”.
In contrast, Benjamin, Benny, Ben (directed by Paul Shkordoff) zoomed in on one young man’s chaotic job interview day. Both humorous and unsettling, it reminded us how fragile identity can feel in moments of pressure, yet how storytelling finds ways to turn anxiety into relatability.
photos by Bertrand N Augustin
The night started with a glass of wine and ended with a lot of reflections and meaningful conversations.Nosakhari Film Festival left me with a deeper appreciation for independent art and restored my need for creation.
Text: Mary Pogwizd (@marypogwizd)
Photos: Bertrand N Augustin (@bertrandnaugustin)
