God Is Grey

This short film solidified my love for production design, storytelling and subtlety. Working closely with the director and cinematographer, we first made sure to establish the intent behind this short film - what did we want people to see and feel from this? How did this relate to ourselves? Coming from different backgrounds (half of the crew travelled from Germany to shoot in London), we all needed to understand how we worked together and find reasonable compromises within a short amount of time.

The shoot meant that we had to work in small, tight spaces, without time on our side and unbearable heat. However, these conditions made the film even more believable.

The house scene especially kept true to the cultural nuances of a West African funeral, with a British twist. Understanding nuances was extremely important here, as we were telling a story to an audience who either didn’t know any better or had underlying stereotypes. Staying faithful to this culture (one that all three of us were aware of and bonded over) ensured total enchantment with the storytelling. We created a visual which beautifully narrated themes of loss, hardship, religion and tension. This story became something that everyone was able to relate to, one way or another. 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on a project with an international crew, and watch this film go through international festival runs.