Reel to Real: Communion - An Evening of Short Film & Conversation
This Pride month, join multi-disciplinary artist Chyna Cassell in conversation with artists
Osadolor and Nana Duffour
after a screening of their respective short films:
a_blurred_fluxx_00.avi and Rainbow Girls
a_blurred_fluxx_00.avi
THE LIMBOS OF A LO-FI DREAMSCAPE: OSADOLOR REFINES THEIR AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY WITH A DYNAMIC EXPERIMENTAL DOCUMENTARY BASKING IN BLACKQUEER FOLKS’ PROCESS OF SELF-BECOMING.
Rainbow Girls
When San Francisco's tech boom pushes them to the margins, a group of young Black trans women decide to push back, staging an audacious heist that turns luxury into resistance.
Osadolor Osawemwenze is a New York-based director, visual maker, creative researcher, and sound designer born and raised in Dallas, Texas. As a Nigerian American, moments of discovery, reflection, and awareness of his positioning in this world influence their dream-like Lo-Fi and D-I-Y videos and experimental sonic design. Through audiovisual works, Osadolor creates space to wonder/wander in abstraction, expansion, and fleeting clarity, finding the most inspiration in the multiplicity of herself that is not so clearly defined or categorizable. He recently graduated from Stanford University with an academic focus on the Black Diaspora, pop culture, Blackqueerness, media, art, and aesthetics. Osadolor's latest experimental documentary, a_blurred_fluxx_00.avi, which delves into the nuances of today's Blackqueer youth, was a finalist for Best Documentary (International Short Film) at the 2024 London Breeze Film Festival and has since been screened in various film festivals, theaters, and spaces. In their globally charting podcast, 'a coming of age, but irl,' Osadolor blurs introspection and conversation through uniquely crafted sonic experiences. Whether through memorable and dynamic film screenings, immersive listening experiences, sound mixes, live art performances, research presentations, or a "TV" Special of Short Films, Osadolor has honed his practice to create various channels of world-building.
Nana Duffuor is a first generation Ghanaian filmmaker whose work thoughtfully blends heart and humor to explore themes at the intersection of the personal and political. She holds a Master’s degree in Screenwriting from Columbia University, and has been the recipient of the NewFest Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Award for Female Director, and the SFFilm Rainin Screenwriting Grant. She was an adjunct assistant professor in Screenwriting at Columbia University. In 2025, her short film Rainbow Girls premiered at Frameline and has since screened at 20+ festivals worldwide, earning Audience Awards at New Orleans Film Festival and NewFest, as well as NewFest’s Grand Jury Prize. The feature is currently in development. Ultimately, Nana’s goal is to tell unforgettable character-driven stories that offer nuanced portrayals of the human condition.
Chyna Cassell is a Liberian-American writer, multi-disciplinary artist, event producer, and facilitator. She holds a bachelor's in Global Studies from The New School. In 2021, Chyna was an artist-in-residence at Casa Na Ilha Artist Residency in Ilhabela, Brazil, and in 2024, an artist-in-residence at Hangar Center for Artistic Research in Lisbon, Portugal. She partners with the Brooklyn Public Library to facilitate creative workshops, including collage and creative writing classes. Her work appears in Omenana African Speculative Fiction Magazine, The African Film Festival Archives, Afapinen, and The Shallow Tales Review. You can stay up-to-date on her work at her website, chynacassell.com. or follow her on socials: IG: @chynacassell and Twitter: @chynameetsworld
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