Ma la raw
The story of a young, unmarried couple in Dakar, oscillating between day and night, the private and public, loving and hiding away, intimacy and distance.
This series is inspired by the film and photos of “In the Mood for Love” by Wong Kar Wai, Christopher Doyle and
@wingshya , a representation of hidden love within conservative society filled with ambiguity between closeness and distance, longing and loving, hiding and being watched, emotional and physical intimacy.
In a modest and reserved society in terms of love, physicality and especially public expressions of these, there can be different barriers within love in Senegal. Coupled with the importance given to perception and showing face, the barriers are not only in terms of having intimacy, but also in how it is shown and whether or not it is. This is a love story bound by societal pressure, the fear of being seen, but physicality doesn’t equate intimacy and love. There’s so much ambiguity and falseness in perception despite the power that our societies can give to it. What is shown is never what we see.
With this series, I wanted to show a glimpse of the intimacy that we often don’t see, while playing with the fact that it shouldn’t be shown.
“Ma la raw” translates to “I miss you more” in Wolof, but it literally means “I am ahead of you” like in a race for example, and can technically mean anything: I love you more, I care more for you, I desire you more…A connection through distance.
Part 1
shot with
@cinestillfilm and
@kodak
thank you to
@bykentra and
@kc_dakar for the beautiful clothing pieces ❤️
