Work in Film
I am a queer Nigerian filmmaker and visual artist whose work is grounded in traditional African cosmologies. I am the subject of the documentary “LIMITLESS” (2021), which highlights my photography series “Limitless Africans” about the lives of 50 LGBT African immigrants in 10 different countries. I am also the co-director of “Obi Mbu (The Primordial House): An Igbo Creation Myth” (2021), a 30-minute experimental film that explores the movement of dancers illuminated under a backdrop of ultraviolet light as they reenact the emergence of the universe. “Obi Mbu” has screened at galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, and Raleigh.
"LIMITLESS" (2021)
I am the star of “LIMITLESS,” a documentary released in 2021 about my photography series “Limitless Africans,” which highlights 50 LGBT African immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in 10 different countries. “LIMITLESS” showcased on WQED Pittsburgh and was nominated for a 2021 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Arts/Entertainment - Short Form Content.
"Obi Mbu (The Primordial House): An Igbo Creation Myth" (2021)
I co-directed “Obi Mbu,” a 30-minute experimental film retelling an Igbo creation story through dance, ultraviolet light, and fluorescent body paint. Released in September 2021, the film has screened at ClampArt Gallery (NYC), Iris Project (LA), and Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh (NC), with an upcoming 2022 tour currently being planned.
Obi Mbu (The Primordial House): An Igbo Creation Myth (2021) is a 30 minute dance film that is centered in the Primordial House, located in the Sirius star system, from which creation emerges. Eke-Nnechukwu, the Igbo high god, and Chukwu, her masculine counterpart, exist in perfect unity in and as the Blackness of space. Although they are dual aspects of the Primordial Androgynous deity, Chukwu sections off a part of space exclusively for himself in the form of a sacred pillared chamber in the heart of the Primordial House. He engages in a secret work by dancing in and out of this chamber, which sets off a chain of irrevocable circumstances that lead to our current world and condition.
Team
Directors: Mikael Owunna & Marques Redd
Movement Director: Ursula Payne
Chukwu: Corey Bourbonniere
Eke-Nnechukwu: Victoria Watford
Sound Design: Herman Pearl / soy s0s
Movement Consultant: Marquita Sams
Production Assistant: Isabelle Analo
Screenings
New York City: ClampArt Gallery, September 17 - October 30, 2021
Opening Reception: Friday, September 17, 2021, 6-8pm
Los Angeles: Iris Project Gallery, November 6 - December 19, 2021
Screenings with Artist Talks:
Saturday, November 6, 2021: 3PM
Saturday, November 20, 2021: 3PM
Saturday, December 18, 2021: 3PM
Raleigh: Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, November 14 & 18, 2021
Sunday, November 14, 2021: 5-8pm
Thursday, November 18, 2021: 7-9pm
