Such a pleasure meeting and interviewing the talented @herranathegreat_ It’s beautiful to see what she’s doing with @chucha.studios bringing Black creatives together to tell our stories across the world!
Filmed at @bunnacafe
Films featured:
The River produced by @qenefilms
Welcome Home in collaboration with @blackarchives.co
It is with complete honor and pleasure to share THE RIVER. My first short film and director debut.
The film explores Ethiopian culture and women’s experiences, heralding beauty while shedding light on systemic barriers. It serves as a poignant commentary on global water accessibility, particularly highlighting the gender-based violence women encounter at water sources. This story serves as a microcosm of the global issue of water accessibility, particularly impacting women who often face gender-based violence at water sites.
Produced and filmed in Ethiopia by @qenefilms , THE RIVER was made possible through funding from the @sheamoisture Grant Program, supported by @mstinaknowles , and in partnership with @amaka.studio supporting its film submission run.
Special thank you to my DOP @tedosteffera and EP @fraythelight for bringing my vision to life.
NEW! Collecting family photos and stories in Brooklyn, director Herrana Addisu and Black Archives retell the history of the Carty family from Trinidad to New York 🗽
Illustrating the rich narratives of Black immigrant families, Addisu and @chucha.studios collaborate with @blackarchives.co for short film ‘Welcome Home’ – honoring the legacy of George Carty and his community in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn
Tap the link in bio to watch the full film on NOWNESS🎥
Director @herranathegreat_
Art Director and Producer @renatacherlise
DOP @wonderworkr@oomo.studio
Photographer @stevesweatpants
BTS @snikka
Production Manager @ruthmm_
Production Coordinator and Project Manager @meebra3
Production Assistant @mustafaaosmann
Featuring: @m_u_z , George Carty, Gerald Valme, Zara Valme, Shandel Burke, Catherine Mbali, Kojo Mbali, Nigel Caldon, Vaughn Caldon, Shawnee Gibson, Isaiah Frazier, Torian Easterling, and Sean Pressley
Special Thanks to Roderick Huntley and Russell Hamilton
I’m still riding the high from a beautiful week with @africanfilmfest . It feels incredibly full circle to go from watching films at @filmlinc to having my own work presented there.
Being part of a lineup featuring all women directors made the experience even more special🤍 Thank you for having me
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, I wanted to share the story behind this still from my film, the image of the horse.
It was inspired by my mother and me, and the way grief can become a parent of its own.
Growing up, my mother put me in horseback riding lessons, and they became some of my favorite memories from childhood. It was one of the last activities she placed me in before she passed, which is why I’ve always held onto it so deeply.
The red scene represents my mother with me as a child, her presence, her guidance, and her ability to still reach me through memory. It represents ambition, movement, love, and the parts of her that continue to live through me, which is why I chose red.
And the scene of the woman standing in black represents the absence of my mother and having to navigate life without her, but also how her message still carried through me. How grief, in many ways, became a parent that raised me.
Music was also a huge part of my mother. There are scenes in the film inspired by her teaching me how to play the krar in her room, memories of her playing music with me that I still carry closely. Music has always been one of the strongest triggers of memory for me. A sound can suddenly bring her back into the room.
Both horseback riding and music became vessels of memory, small things that kept her close to me. Over time, those memories became something larger than grief. They became legacy.
Today and forever, I dedicate my work to the woman who shaped me.
Love you, Chucha 🤍
🌟Another highlight of #NYAFF33 at @filmlinc is our first shorts program, ‘Crossings’ 🌟
Discover expeditions of identity in this sequence of short films, moving through ritual, migration, memory, and belonging across the African continent and diaspora.
🎞️ Featuring ‘Departing’ by @tomisin.s , ‘Happy Meal’ by @makabijohanna , ‘Heartbreaks & Ocean Waves’ by @missobrimah , ‘The River’ by @herranathegreat_ / @qenefilms , ‘Knotless’ by @steph.boateng , ‘Faux Lion’ by @agathe.theshots , ‘Nwanne M Nwaanyi’ by @chiemekaoffor , and ‘Leaving Ikorodu in 1999’ by Rashida Seriki!
🎤 Stay for a post-screening Q&A with Rashida Seriki, Johanna Makabi & Herrana Addisu!
🗓 Thursday, May 7 | 8:30PM
REPEAT: Friday, May 8 | 3PM 📍 Film at Lincoln Center 🎟️ Tickets in bio
#NYAFF33
The River is an Official Selection of the New York African Film Festival @africanfilmfest screening at @lctheater
Two years since the film’s release, and it still feels surreal to witness how far it has traveled. From Ethiopia to screens across the world, this journey has been a testament to the power of culture, how it can be felt, understood, and carried across borders without translation.
Grateful for every audience that has held this story.
Screening Schedule:
Crossings Programme
Thursday, May 7 — 8:30PM
Friday, May 8 — 3:00PM
Lincoln Center
More information at @africanfilmfest
