Sunlight Around the Corner: The Golden Sparrow
USA & Canada // 2021 // Experimental // LOS SHORTS
“Sunlight Around the Corner: The Golden Sparrow” is an experimental narrative short film inspired by the lives of the front-line community health workers. These women work in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States located in Richmond, Virginia. The film was conceptualized to personify these stories and activated by several art forms. Using the interpretive movements by the Cuban dancer Daylin Martinez, she embodied the struggles, pains, joys and triumphs of those women just by listening to their words, through the deep rich voice of the Canadian Nigerian singer Yetunde Ajasin. The music amplifies the dialogue in between these elements, combining sounds and rhythms of the African Diaspora such as Yoruba, Palo Monte, Blues and the ethnic-mysterious Arará. In most places of the world, the sparrow bird (old world sparrow) is used as a symbol of power, creativity, community, simplicity and empowerment.
Director: Daymé Arocena, Pablo Dewin
Producer: Three Ears (Alicia Aroche)
Experimental
English
20 minutes
This film is only screening in-person and will not be available to stream virtually.
ALAFIAfilms is an artist collective created since 2019 by the photographer, videographer and visual artist Pablo Dewin and the musician and composer Dayme Arocena. The purpose of this union is the joint development of audiovisual materials inspired by the creative processes of several artistic expressions. Through this collaboration platform both artists combine their skills at the disposal of a common piece, which contributes to the growth of their individual careers and the collective itself. Since its inception they have supported creators, venues and local events, as well as international cultural and social awareness projects, focused on visibility to minorities and the community of artist and activist around the world.
PABLO DEWIN was born in Havana Cuba and his works include painting, drawing, body paint, ceramics, photography, video art and audiovisuals. In 2019, he received one of the scholarships from the International School of Film and Television (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, to be part of the multipurpose workshop specializing in film editing and he founded the audiovisual platform ALAFIAfilms with his wife Daymé Arocena with the aim of making materials for independent artists or in the process of professional empowerment from all over the world.
DAYMÉ AROCENA URIBARRI is an award-winning Afro-Cuban jazz singer, who has been described as Cuba’s “finest young female singer”. She is a Grammy Award nominee and Juno Award winner in 2015, for the best jazz album, as a member of the jazz band Maqueque directed by Jane Bunnett.
In September 2019, she launched her latest album called “SONOCARDIOGRAM”, nominated for the UK critics’ awards “Songlines 2020” as “Best Americas Album”. She has described this material as a journey through her own life history. Also, she has been included in the “DownBeat Critics Pool” in the last two editions as one of the “Best Rising Female Vocalist Star”.