Plot

A young woman's search for cultural identity through West African dance and drumming.

San Francisco-born writer and producer Ekene Okobi bridges her left-coast provenance and West African roots in a documentary that opens with pulsating drumbeats and a scrolling quote from Manda Tchebwa, an ethnomusicologist who describes African music as a link between the past and present "that teaches rhythm and joy to a society that sacrifices everything to objects." Narration for the story is provided by interviews with Okobi's mother and with two Washington, DC-based dance and drumming artists: Kadiatou Conte and Melvin Deal. Conte is the Guinean founder and artistic director of the Balafon Dance Company. Lifelong DC resident Deal is the founder and artistic director of the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers. Using interviews, scenes from dance classes, performances, archival footage and family photographs, Okobi pieces together a fragmented identity. There are no easy answers and many contradictions. Interviewees dispute and confirm each other's statements in a fashion similar to family squabbles inspired by an afternoon spent poring over faded albums and shared memories.—Ekene Okobi