SVAFF Reflections
The Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) is a culturally-packed, vibrant film festival with a vibe like no other. It displays Africa’s diversity, authenticity, and joie de vivre. It’s a platform for discovery and exploration for friends and fans of the African continent. I’ve participated in the festival for many, but this year, I got to attend as the protagonist of a featured documentary, Fear Not.
Fear Not is a Splicer Film docu-short about my life and the work I’m privileged to accomplish through the Karat School Project (KSP). It was filmed in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Cote d’Ivoire, my country of origin, where the KSP runs a full-time education and community center for marginalized women and children.
The Cote d’Ivoire portions of the film follow the children at school and show the impact that our boots-on-the approach has through our women's programs in the community. The Bay Area portions highlight the work that we do in Silicon Valley with marginalized families living in Residential Vehicles (RVs) to improve their educational opportunities and cultivate youth leadership.
Evelyne with the students at the KSP in Cote D’ivoire
In addition to film screenings, SVAFF offers activities for content creators and filmmakers, like visiting the Netflix headquarters and participating in networking events. These give the young artists, many of whom are visiting the USA for the first time, the opportunity to build lasting connections.
Fear Not portrays the bicultural impact of a grassroots organization founded and operated by an African immigrant woman. It shows what African immigrants can achieve here in our “new home”, while also reaching back and contributing to our communities of origin.
I was excited for my fellow diaspora members to see Fear Not. I secretly hoped that It would inspire us to know that we are the solution to the problems plaguing our home countries and local communities.
Evelyne participating in a Q&A alongside Splicer Film founder, Annette King, and the moderator at SVAFF.
Due to technical difficulties, participants of SVAFF were not able to see Fear Not in its entirety. Yet, I was brought to tears when some of the viewers shared their impressions with me. Many stated how impacted and impressed they were by the work I have been doing. I could see fearlessness in the eyes of a young woman from Los Angeles as she shared that Fear Not has ignited a fire in her to start a cross-cultural exchange of art knowledge between students in Los Angeles and the African Continent. I couldn’t regain my emotions for hours after a young man from Sierra Leone said that after watching my story, he too has hope that one day, his story will be shared.
This is the power of us stepping out to do something. This is the power of storytelling. This is the power of Ubuntu as it’s displayed through the SVAFF.
Evelyne walking through the farmland for a program to train women how to grow crops in Cote D’ivoire