Ten years ago today, my beautiful mother, Sonia Malfa Sr., passed away. I feel deeply blessed to have been graced with her love, support, intelligence, adventure, courage, determination, joy, and wisdom. I am proud to carry her name.
THE UNDERTOW is a visual poem I directed the year after losing her. The title refers to the current of grief, memory, and loss flowing just beneath the surface of my calm, stoic exterior, like the hidden pull of the ocean tugging at your feet as the waves recede. The film was created as an improvisation - felt rather than written, raw instead of structured. I created it as both a reflection of the grief and memory that consumed me during that time, and as an offering to her spirit. In every frame I tried to hold the weight of absence alongside the radiance she carried in her laughter, her wonder, and her fierce joy for life. In making this work, I came to understand that she would not want me to remain submerged in grief. She would want me to find my own joy again, to carry her light forward, and, in that act, to release her lovingly into spirit.
For many years I kept the film private. It felt like a journal entry meant only for my mother and me. But today, on the tenth anniversary of her passing, I feel compelled to honor her memory by sharing it.
Love you Mom.
Link to full video in bio.
And thank you to my inspiring creative collaborators for stepping into the sandbox with me, and for helping me shape grief into memory, and memory into light.
Muse and Actress:
@nrg.healix
Spirit:
@florenceblakemourad
Writer, Director, Editor:
@sonsoll
Cinematographer:
@lisarinzler
Stedicam Operator:
@lucasmcgowen
Asstant camera and Still Photogrpaher:
@smallmediumlee
Assiatnat Camera: Richard Francis Martin
Sound Operator: Brian N. Joseph
Markup Artist:
@makeupbygeeta
Jewelry by:
@l_enchanteur
Sequence Dress by:
@jeromelamaar
Color Grade:
@natachaikoli
Composer:
@amandacomposer 
