A short film produced by Liverpool Hope alumna Amber Akaunu is featured in a new BBC Four programme exploring female filmmakers.
Amber, who graduated with a Fine Art degree in 2018, drew on her own experience for her film Afro Hair Rituals. The short is described as capturing ‘an intimate moment that celebrates a central part of many black women’s lives’.
The film features in Dr Janina Ramirez’s latest programme for BBC Four - Female Filmmakers: BBC Introducing Arts – which showcases thought-provoking works that explore the varied perspectives and concerns of women today.
Amber’s piece sees a teenage girl visit her grandmother, who spends several hours with her performing the ancient ritual of styling afro hair. In the film’s description it outlines how ‘the mood is set with incense, candles and their shared laughter. They are in their own world where they bond over memories and stories’.
While studying at Liverpool Hope, Amber established a crowd-funded magazine that provides a ‘a platform for creative people of colour’.
Created in partnership with fellow student Fauziya Johnson, the pair successfully raised funds to pay for the creation and printing of ROOT-ed: Revolution of our Time.