Ngozi Onwurah shorts program

Between 1988 and 1994, the British-Nigerian filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah (*1964) made an autobiographical series of short films that explore body image, body politics and the search for identity. Her juxtaposition of uncomfortable narratives with visual beauty and artistic symbolism is fascinating. In her graduation film COFFEE COLOURED CHILDREN, which she made while studying at St. Martin's School of Art in London, she depicts the trauma of racial harassment that she and her brother Simon experienced while growing up in a largely white neighborhood. In THE BODY BEAUTIFUL, she takes a critical look at ideals of feminine beauty and the lack of social acceptance for any deviation. FLIGHT OF THE SWAN follows the fictional story of a Nigerian girl who attends a ballet school in England and dreams of performing the role of Princess Odette from Swan Lake as a "black swan." In the murder mystery WHITE MEN ARE CRACKING UP, Onwurah explores the fetishization of Black women by white males.

Films:
Coffee Coloured Children UK 1988 Digital file engl. OV 15 min.
The Body Beautiful UK 1990 Digital file engl. OV 23 min.
Flight of the Swan UK 1992 Digital file engl. OV 12 min.
White Men Are Cracking Up UK 1994 Digital file engl. OV 20 min.