Crafted beauty #6b: Taking Flight

An art film on my trip to Senegal (part 2)

So, I made an art film about my trip to Senegal. You may have seen the first part (linked here).

I come to you with the second and final part of the film. Below, I also explain a bit more about the concept and significance.

*The song used is “Jikko” by Les Frères Guissé

This film is a reflection on freedom, in many different senses. Nothing makes me feel as free as travelling. In a new place, away from the obligations and rituals of my daily life, I am the lightest version of myself. This is also clear from the way I explore, placing little limits on my movement, and doing things I may not even feel comfortable to do in my own country. But more specifically, there was how Senegal made me feel — safe enough to search for myself in different places. This film finds me searching, even in the observation of the people around me. In the film, they are in a state of doing, or simply being, and I wonder what they are searching for in those moments. Above all, there is the motif of the birds, which are very present in the Senegal landscape, and are the ultimate representation of freedom. They are in most of the shots of the film, and serve as a constant reminder. And at the end, there is Gorée island, which for the heaviness of its history, and for the legacy of slavery, leads me to question and value freedom even more. Ultimately, this film shows the beauty of Senegal, and my response to this beauty is to liberate myself to play with this other medium of storytelling— film. In other words, when I witness breath-taking beauty, my instinct is to go after it, to capture it, to experience it. Freely.

I hope you enjoyed watching this. Please let me know your thoughts, and share with your friends!

Prompt:

When do you feel the most freedom? Write about it and share it with me (by sending it on instagram, or replying by email if you’re a subscriber) in the next week, and it will go up on the Instagram page.