Meet the filmmakers from the Alumni of Colour Association screening
- Written byEleanor Harvey
- Published date 12 December 2023
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The Alumni of Colour Association (AoCA) welcomed graduates to its second event of the year: the Talent on Film screening.
The AoCA is a collaborative community that aims to support people of colour in the creative industries. Run by alumni volunteers, the association organises supportive events throughout the year. These feature inspirational speakers and are a great chance to meet like-minded creatives.
After an amazing response to a call out back in September, the AoCA committee carefully selected 9 film works from talented alumni, ranging from music videos, trailers and short films. The screening took place at the end of November, and was held at the Wellcome Collection in Central London.
Meet the artists
Annette Fernando
Work shown: Transitional Spaces (original extended version)
BA Fine Arts 2014, Central Saint Martins
A London-based artist with French, Italian, and Sri Lankan roots, Annette is currently pursuing an MA in Contemporary Art at Sotheby's Institute of Art. Her artistic practice includes drawing, printmaking, painting and film. There’s a particular focus on showing individuals of diverse backgrounds and questioning representations, through a critical examination of the male gaze and colonial perspectives within the public domain.
Annette’s creative pursuit delves into the deliberate slowing of time, aiming to show the often-overlooked moments that shape our perceptions. Her inspiration is drawn from a range of sources including archives, film and instances she sees as cinematic in the tapestry of daily life, especially those which remind her of poignant memories. Through her unique lens, she encourages us to change our perspectives by slowing down the world, urging us to re-evaluate and take a second look at the intricacies that surround us.
Annette is also a member of the AoCA Committee.
About Transitional Spaces:
The train window serves as a dynamic cinematic screen. By meticulously slowing down the frames, the observer is given the opportunity to absorb the myriad details typically overlooked during a routine commute. In this context, the platform metamorphoses into a dual realm—a public space shared by many, yet possessing an intimate, private essence. Proximity to fellow commuters invites contemplation about their journeys: their thoughts, destinations, and stories unfold in the mind.
The deliberate deceleration of time transforms unsuspecting commuters into inadvertent actors on the cinematic stage of daily life, evoking the aesthetic resonance of film stills or paintings. It is this capture of fleeting narratives and the cadence of ordinary existence that captivates my interest.
Originally filmed in 2016 using an iPhone during journeys between Sri Lanka and the UK, this footage ignited a fervour for documenting all my travels in slow motion. The diverse tapestry of people, attires, customs, stations, platforms, and landscapes fascinates me. It mirrors the ambiguity of emotional connection to multiple places, unsure which to define as home, or whether all can be embraced as such. Moreover, it underscores the common thread of shared emotions, journeys, and everyday life stories that unify us all.
(Transitional Spaces, 7 minutes [shortened version], 2019)
Jordan Williams/AURA-KL
Work shown: Seven (music video)
BA Graphic Design 2013, Camberwell College of Arts
Jordan Williams, also known as AURA-KL, is a versatile creative based in Newham, London, whose talents span filmmaking, rap, art direction, and writing. His achievements include authoring Footprints: Step One, receiving recognition as an emerging cinematographer from the British Society of Cinematographers, and being honoured as one of 100 Black Creatives Inspiring Change by The Dots.
Jordan founded Adversatile Artists (AA) to promote the arts and societal progress. During the 2020 pandemic, he turned personal adversity into creative inspiration, resulting in the debut album HEIR and the luxury fashion brand HEIR Collection.
AA has evolved into a community-focused organisation, offering support to those with lived experiences of homelessness while also pursuing the commercial growth of a creative business. Inspired by his own experiences with homelessness after completing his MA in visual arts, Jordan aims to provide a support system and a path out of turmoil for misunderstood and displaced individuals. AA not only celebrates lived experience as a resource but also champions neurodiversity as an asset to business, fostering innovative ideas, interdisciplinary production methods, and products, aligning with the increasing demand for such skill sets in the marketplace. This advocacy is reflected not only in AA’s values, but in its name, a portmanteau of ‘adversity’ and ‘versatility’.
Currently Jordan is developing his first Sustainable Fashion collection, which will be launched through his film series called ‘In My Borough’ that features the clothing as wardrobe for the cast.
AURA-KL is celebrating 3 years since the release of his debut album, HEIR. Listen to the full album.
About Seven:
Seven is a music video featuring AURA-KL rapping over hard-hitting hip-hop production, about being triumphant in overcoming adversity. The concept of the video was to depict being trapped in a psychological hell inspired by hip-hop culture. As AURA-KL finds his way around the narrow corridors of his mind, he realises that his subconscious is torturing him, but the only way to escape is to deal with it head-on. This is the first single off his debut album HEIR, released on SoundCloud. He created the album during the pandemic; he was also homeless and the location they used was a hotel he was temporarily accommodated in.
(Seven, 2 minutes 31 sec, 2020)
Valeria Weerasinghe
Work shown: In A Drop (trailer)
MA Character Animation, CSM
Valeria is an Italian Sri Lankan illustrator, filmmaker and animation programmer. Her work explores themes of cultural identity and introspection in everyday life using bold colours and movement.
About In a Drop:
Split between two cultures, a young girl falls into an imaginary jungle to escape her daily life. Guided by a drop, she finds herself in front of her roots and realises her heritage will forever be an important part of her identity.
(In a drop trailer, 44 sec, 2023)
Jonathan Reid-Edwards
Work shown: The Good Neighbour, (trailer & clip/buy or rent full film)
BA Directing 2011, Drama Centre London
Jonathan is a London-based writer and director. After getting a DIY filmmaking education working on sets in London for many years, he graduated with first class honours in Directing from Drama Centre London, UAL with his award-winning short film Hadley TK-421 in 2011. The film went on to win awards and play at film festivals around the world.
He co-founded Black House Pictures with fellow filmmaker Kate Tuck, making more short films and promos. As with many other independent filmmakers, both he and Kate have developed a knack for making small budgets look much bigger on screen. Jonathan wrote and directed the 2019 feature film The Good Neighbour, which was self-distributed during the pandemic lockdown on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Google Play. He has other feature scripts he is developing with an eye to direct in the future.
He recently directed the music video for Beth Orton’s “Forever Young”, and is also a visiting director at LAMDA, giving BA and MA actors real world experience the best way possible: by making short films with professional crews.
About The Good Neighbour:
Jodie wrestles with her multiple sclerosis diagnosis as she struggles to keep her farm afloat. Her life takes a dramatic turn when a mute stranger seeks refuge, pursued by forces unknown. Melding social commentary with light touch science fiction, The Good Neighbour creates a vision of Britain caught in an atmosphere of fear and distrust.
(The Good Neighbour, feature film, 2020)
Kalisha Piper-Cheddie
Work shown: Waves Crashing on Concrete Streets
Art & Design Foundation Dip 2019, Camberwell College of Arts
Kalisha is a multidisciplinary artist from London, who gained her foundation diploma from Camberwell in 2019, and BA in Fine Art with Contemporary Cultural Theory from the University of Leeds in 2023. Kalisha takes the honouring and retelling of contested or forgotten histories as the main emphasis of her practice.
Kalisha uses her family history as a starting point to explore wider histories of migration, colonialism and intangible cultural heritage. Duality is central, the subjects which she tackles often exist within a dual or in-between space, trapped between 2 different veins of knowledge. She uses family archives, interviews, video, text and printmaking to explore this. By focusing on the domestic space, Kalisha speaks to wider issues of migration, family, femininity, loss, and the personal impacts of colonialism.
Kalisha's work has been shown in group shows including “Mindjeres di Mundo” (East Street Arts, 2023) and ‘AoCA Diaspora and Belonging Exhibition’ (Mother London, 2023). Her work was nominated for the FUAM Graduate Arts Prize 2023, and she was interviewed for the a-n degree show guide 2023.
Since graduating Kalisha has been focusing on developing her practice alongside studying a MA in Archives and Records management at University College London.
About Waves Crashing on Concrete Streets:
The film “is a reflection on the emotional impact migration has on the individual. Including the voices of my mother, Janice Cheddie, and my uncle, Rae Cheddie.”
(Waves Crashing on Concrete Streets, 2 min 57 sec, 2022)
Maira Hamid
Work shown: Hidden Treasure
MA Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries 2017, CSM
Maira is a founder of MAIRASGALLERY LONDON. She was good at art since she was a child and used to win art competitions, but she never received an art education. She started her art business in 2002, after completing her MBA in Pakistan. She’s shown her work at various art exhibitions.
About Hidden Treasure:
The film is based on a narrative that uses art animation for the audience to contemplate. There are 7 stages in the film, which show the journey of human life transition. This journey is completed when the hidden treasure is found. The hidden treasure becomes a treasure when it reaches the purified stage where there is no hatred but love for all living beings. Thus, it becomes the key to unlocking the hidden reality of the universe, hence the connection with the Absolute Being. The film was screened at the RSA (Royal Society of Arts UK) film night on 6th October 2022.
(Hidden Treasure, 1 min, 2022)
Samar Zia
Work shown: Needled
MA Fine Arts 2013, CSM
Samar is an artist, curator and writer based in London. Alongside making and exhibiting her art, she writes critical essays examining cultural markers such as art and books.
Alongside her MA from CSM, Samar also graduated with Distinction in BFA from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi. She is part of the AoCA committee and helps curate and put events together for the network.
She contributes to the Fitzrovia Community Centre, London, where she has been artist-in-residence, in various capacities. She is also a Trustee of the Fitzrovia Chapel.
Samar has curated exhibitions independently in London and worked as an exhibition guide at the Hayward Gallery. She has served as visiting faculty at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and taught at the Art Academy London.
- Samar’s UAL profile and Instagram.
About Needled:
Needled is meant to reflect the fear and danger associated with biotechnology such as genetic engineering. We mostly embrace advancement in technology wholeheartedly without realising or challenging its implications for the future, for human life. This film is a culmination of 5 years of work exploring medical technology, its necessity and cost on human dignity.
(Needled, 4 minutes 43 sec, 2013)
Walid Bhatt
Work shown: Going Home
(BA Architecture 2017, CSM)
Walid is an artist and designer working at architecture and ideas studio, CAN. His work includes furniture, public realm interventions and buildings. His work as an artist and designer sits between two poles: a reverence for the ‘everyday’ alongside a radical spirit informed by art and cultural influences. He often uses design as a medium to tell stories, referencing his British and Pakistani heritage, creating objects that transcend pure function and act as a device for cultural memory. Besides his UAL degree, he also graduated with a MA in Architecture from the Royal College of Art in 2021. His final year thesis Who Does They Cheer For? sought to legitimise the denigrated game of ‘street cricket’ (a version of cricket most associated with diaspora communities who play in streets and urban spaces across the UK); with the building of a sports pavilion and the spatial reconfiguration of a council estate in Northwest London. He’s currently studying for a Postgraduate Certificate at the University of Cambridge. Going Home is his first moving image work.
- CAN studio website and Instagram.
- Walid’s personal Instagram
About Going Home:
Exploring the reconstruction of memory through nostalgia, I followed my dad to the flat my family lived in in Camberwell, London in 1989. My piece explores place, longing and identity through a series of still images that document my father's experience and his personal struggles in the face of racism in the early 90s.
(Going Home, 4 min 35 sec, 2021)
Clare Chun-yu Liu
Work shown: Another Beautiful Dream (trailer)
MFA Fine Arts 2015, Wimbledon College of Arts
Clare is a UK-based Taiwanese artist, filmmaker, researcher and lecturer. She’s interested in reviewing history in relation to diasporic experience and postcolonial thinking. In her practice, she explores oral history and lived experience in the form of fiction and nonfiction to challenge the grand narratives. She holds a practice-based Fine Art PhD from Manchester School of Art. Funded by the Vice-Chancellor Scholarship, her recently completed doctoral research reinterprets English chinoiserie from a postcolonial and personal/Taiwanese perspective through film.
Clare has presented her work at conferences, including at Central Saint Martins, SOAS, University College London and Paul Mellon Centre/Yale University. Her films have been screened and exhibited internationally, including at the Institute of Contemporary Art London, Raven Row London, Asymmetry Foundation, Oxford University, New Art Exchange Nottingham, EXiS Seoul, Image Forum Festival Japan, Kasseler Dokfest, Taipei International Video Art Exhibition, Goethe Institut Lisbon and Mingsheng Art Museum Beijing. Her work is in VIDEOTAGE Media Art Collection in Hong Kong.
About Another Beautiful Dream:
Another beautiful dream is a postcolonial response to chinoiserie, questioning the representation of Chineseness in the visual style. Filmed in-situ, this work revisits the Chinese wallpaper from the 18th century at Harewood House, an English stately home. Integral to the culture of taste, exotic artefacts such as Chinese wallpaper then furnished houses of the landed gentry and enabled them to closely experiment with the foreign. And so, through exploring the other and thus establishing the self, modern British identity took shape in the heyday of maritime commerce.
Across the film, there are four monologues by ‘Chinese’ Chippendale - the designer sourcing and hanging the wallpaper, Chinese Emperor Chien-lung, the artist herself and Ang, the artist’s childhood neighbour in Taipei with Chinese Ching royal, Manchurian and Taiwanese background. The 4 characters critique the Chinese wallpaper in relation to self and other from their perspectives informed by their lived experience.
The artistic strategy of juxtaposing chinoiserie with the artist’s personal and familial photography serves to further explore self and other. As the wallpaper was made in China for export purpose, self-representation is at stake. The use of personal photos questions how one represents oneself in the present and how that negotiates self-representation from the past.
‘Another beautiful dream’ is the sequel to ‘This is China of a particular sort; I do not know’ (2020). Both are part of the artist’s practice-based fine art PhD, revisiting English chinoiserie from a postcolonial and personal/Taiwanese/Chinese diasporic perspective through re-interpreting English chinoiserie collections at cultural heritage sites.
(Another beautiful dream, 2 min, 2022 – trailer)
- Find out more about the AoCA.
- Get involved with the AoCA: aoca@arts.ac.uk
