Ajyal Film Festival 2023

All Films

On The Surface

Ajyal Competition

Fan Sissoko / Short Narrative / Iceland, United States of America, Mali / 2021 / 5 min / Colour
In English / Arabic subtitles
Interests: Animation

Synopsis

‘On the Surface' is a short contemplative animation about a young Black woman who goes swimming in the Icelandic Sea. There, she reflects on her experience of raising a child in a country that feels nothing like home. She relives her traumatic pregnancy and postnatal depression as she enters the freezing water. Facing her fears, she begins to relax in the deep wild abyss—helping her to heal on her emotional journey.

About the Directors

Fan Sissoko is a French-Malian artist and filmmaker based in Reykjavik, with a background in design for social change. Her work explores themes of migration, motherhood, otherhood and neurodiversity. Notable commissions include work for the Migration Museum, the Museum of London, the Science Gallery Dublin, and the National Trust. Her animated short film 'On the Surface' was awarded a grant from Art with Impact, screened at festivals around the world, including Clermont Ferrand ISFF (France), and won the Heartwired Award at Our Heritage, Our Planet Film Festival (US).

Credits

Director
Fan Sissoko
Screenwriter
Fan Sissoko
Producer
Fan Sissoko, Art with Impact
Editor
Fan Sissoko
Production Company
Art With Impact
Sound
Arnar Guðjonsson
Music
Tariqh Akoni, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir
Distributor
Sudu Connexion
Cast
Enid Mbabazi

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