| Owen 'Alik Shahadah | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 Hanover, Germany |
| Occupation | Film director, producer, cultural historian and academic. |
| Website | http://www.owenshahadah.com |
Owen ‘Alik Shahadah (b. 1973) is a director, African academic, writer, musician, photographer and music producer. He is best known for authoring works, which deal with African history, social justice, environmental issues, education and world peace. Born in Hanover, Germany and educated in both England and the Caribbean, Shahadah is of a new generation of African Diaspora filmmakers inspired by the likes of Ousmane Sembène and Haile Gerima. He produces work that articulates a multidimensional African world perspective. Testimony to this is 500 Years Later and his new production MOTHERLAND.[1] [2] He is a critic of the terms black people and Sub-Saharan Africa, he states they are products of racism to undermine African history and cultural contributions.[3]
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Education
Shahadah studied Aeronautical Engineering (BEng) in London and zoology (Bsc) at the University of the West Indies. [4]He is currently working on obtaining a doctorate in African history and culture. He is known to be one of the few filmmakers with a science and engineering background who applies engineering models and principles to film production. He also has a keen interest in anthropology, natural history, linguistics and is a qualified PADI divemaster (scuba diver). [4]
Film/Video List
- Our Story Our Voice (2007)
- The Idea (2006)
- 500 Years Later (2005)
- No Difference (Music Video) (2005)
- Tear for the World (Music Video) (2005)
- Like water running off my back (Music Video) (2004)
Films
Shahadah' is best known for directing the documentary 500 Years Later, an influential film that explores the psycho-cultural effects of slavery and colonialism in the African Diaspora. The film won 5 international awards including: Breaking Chains Award 2007, UNESCO [5] (presented at ZIFF film festival in Zanzibar, Best Documentary at the Pan African (Los Angeles) and Bridgetown (Barbados) Film Festivals; Best Film at the International Black Cinema (Berlin) Film Festival; and Best International Documentary at the Harlem (New York) International Film Festival. In October of 2005, 500 Years Later was screened at the Millions More Movement. Philadelphia Weekly wrote, "When participants gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the Millions More Movement rally last month, they also became one of the largest film audiences in history." He has also directed The Idea with (Tunde Jegede), a black comedy, as well as the political documentary Our Story Our Voice(2007) which was selected for Best Documentary at the Pan-African Film Festival.
African Aesthetic
Shahadah is seen as one of the next generation of African Diaspora filmmakers, who draws from the masters of African cinema. Shahadah believes that Africans must develop an authentic African aesthetic and bring this into film culture. He also stresses that all art in the traditional African senses is socially functional. As a filmmaker he is noted for emphasizing music to film synchronization. He stresses that African film, like African music (both of the continent and the Diaspora), has a rhythm which is the fundamental inner harmony that sets up a unique African sensibility. Owen Shahadah is a critic of Nollywood and popular “African American cinema” which he believes cheapens the perception of African culture; “it re-emphasizes, by imitation, a culturally shallow notion of African people, it serves more for the entertainment of Europeans than anything else.”
Music career
Producers and pianist in the Jazz-Fusion band Ocacia, who have performed at numerous international jazz festivals, including the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival in 2000. The band has also played at many of the key London Jazz venues including Ronnie Scotts and WKD. As a composer, Shahadah has written over 400 songs including the hit Tear for the World and If I… (co-written by Maya Jobarteh).[6] Shahadah also wrote the opening theme for 500 Years Later with African percussionist Mamedi Kamara.
Published work
Widely known as the creator of the audiomentary he has written audio adaptions of the work of Harun Yahya, a Turkish creationist and Holocaust denier. These works included Dark Face of Darwinism (a study of the legacy of Darwinism), Perished Nations and the Collapse of Evolution. He had written the audio production Torn land: Palestine, African Holocaust: Dark Voyages and co-written Afrikan Kingdoms. He has written a paper titled Linguistics for a new African reality which was adapted by the African Code. The paper identifies how sociolinguistic apply to self-determination.[7]. In December 2005 he published a report on South Africa, titled: South Africa; 10 Years in 10 days.[8] He is a critic of the terms black people and Sub-Saharan Africa, he states they are products of racism to undermine African history and cultural contributions.[3] He also writes on slavery in Africa, Arabia and the Americas. [9]
Quotes
- "The bucket can never be greater than the well it draws water from"
- "The dove of peace cannot fly down the barrel of a gun"
- "Ugly is ignorance worn with pride"
- "Don't burn the forest of tomorrow for wood today"
Interviews
Notes
- ^ 500 Years Later
- ^ Motherland Film
- ^ a b The Removal of Agency from Africa by Owen 'Alik Shahadah
- ^ a b Education
- ^ [http:// allafrica.com/stories/200707130970.html UNESCO AWARD]
- ^ Soundtrack Listing by IMDB
- ^ Linguistics for a new African reality by Owen 'Alik Shahadah, first published at the Cheikh Anta Diop conference in 2005
- ^ South Africa: 10 days,10 years later by Owen 'Alik Shahadah, December 2005
- ^ Arab Slave Trade
