Celebrating Afrofuturism through Film
An evening of short films, glühwein, and live piano
Walking down a warmly-lit street, lined with oak trees and quaint houses, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this film festival other than there would be a screening of short films (obviously). Well, what a pleasant surprise to have arrived at a little house with a single candle burning on the low front wall, and shown through a side entrance that lead to a courtyard around the back of the property. Entering the space, I was warmly greeted by many a smile, as well as disco balls spinning gently in the trees, handmade bunting strung from one side of the courtyard to the other, fabric draped from the trees, and a bar. I mean, come on. This is the kind of film screening everybody likes to attend, am I right?
What is usually the dining-room was cleared — the furniture having been replaced with carpets, mattresses, throws, and cushions. A little projector sat in the middle of the room. The short films were carefully selected and curated in such a way that if one might have been slightly triggering, the following was contrastingly gentler, easing the heart. I remember one of them being one of the sweetest films I’d ever seen, full of pastels, an abundance of yellows, and plants — this one was called Skin Diver.
A high-five to Stef and Alexa for putting everything together. A low bow to Blaine for both his piano, as well as his playing it during the interval — as well as to Ijeoma for absolutely killing it with her vocals alongside him (those of you who have been to our last few smaller gatherings will know exactly what I mean). A warm thank you to Chris for gifting us his space for this wonderful event. And the most gratitude and love for everybody who showed up — we can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.
This event was thrown by That Zine (of which I am a part of but because of work and shifts and life in general, I’d been unable to participate in planning beforehand — hence my surprise upon arrival). Whilst it was hosted as a means of celebrating Africa through short film, all proceeds actually went back to our team members as we’ve been running this whole independent online magazine thing stirictly as a passion project. Don’t get me wrong, we all love it and are completely here for it, but it’s also nice to do things for yourself, which is exactly what we did. Self-care is the best care — know your worth, hun. And we do.
If you have any ideas or dreams that you’d like help manifesting, please give us a shout at thateclectic@gmail.com, slide into our DMs, or even just drop a comment below! Like we’ve said before, collaboration and participation is totally our vibe.
All photographs taken by Steph Fichardt, our founding mother
