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“The Water Phoenix” : On Narratives About Female Agency & Black Mermaids
Black people exist in the future.
Black people exist in outer space.
Black people exist under the sea.
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Written, directed and starring herself as the dazzling sea creature, Bola Ogun expressed great frustration on trying to get films made as a marginalized person, as herself — a first generation Nigerian-American filmmaker. So, if I’m getting the story right, she turned to crowdfunding to get some of the funds needed for this short film to finally get a finished film completed and uploaded to Vimeo last year. The synopsis is pretty straight forward:
When an imprisoned mermaid is betrayed by her caretaker, she must find a way to escape the aquarium alone.
The film opens to a voice over of Ogun’s character: “Sometimes you meet the love of your life…and sometimes that love betrays you” From a black screen to a view of her lying on what looks like a gurney being rolled somewhere. She’s looking disinterested, disheartened and not feeling it as the camera shows us, a man. A man who is busy apologizing and making excuses.
