so tennis and soccer is here we want
motive in mind to set things rolling
just like we don't look emotive this the
theme for today's event is seventh the
chaos and witness all world no mental
health day being a few weeks ago I found
a link between its tomb now these days a
lot more people are starting to realize
that mental health affects everyone and
I found that for myself too a lot of
people are going through anxiety
depression and with social media
everybody's just trying to get ahead and
gets the destination they don't do much
of appreciating the journey as a
filmmaker I feel the same way I worked
really hard probably weeks on end but
the one day that I'm not doing anything
I go on social media and I see one of my
mates are making an amazing film I just
think okay you know how to get up and do
it again I can take a knee brace for me
to actually understand my journey thus
far I think I have to appreciate the
steps about me and so I'm going to tell
you a bit about myself and I'm just a
little image that I think is funny who I
am as a filmmaker I was born in Kaduna
in 1994 so a mother that's half night
from Bombay and knock Welsh my father
we tossed it is half Syrian and how can
I change on Cody state where the sign
made me write I've had to answer that
question
I think all my life I had inspired a
Nigerian because I was born here I was
raised Aaron Cini this is home
but I like to look older actually before
while I was quite young I didn't really
see racist thing because my family was
so Knicks race wasn't really a problem I
couldn't see color believe it or not
because everyone was just amazed but as
I started school I started to realize
things changed because I started mean I
didn't describe by the way that I looked
I was defined by the way that I look
growing up in Nigeria I was always the
like this person in the room the Orion
both shy of the white girl and I would
always be asked where am i where am i
from I would say Nigeria up at the scene
over your half-caste
or your mixed-race are not just from
here and for me that was annoying
because I had to keep going over and
over again okay my mom is from here my
guys from here and it got quite
remaining so I went to that and as I
grew older I ran to school to further my
studies in the UK a small island called
the Isle of Man I think I will said that
when I move there he's changed because I
was now the black though I was the back
astronomer I don't believe in Nigeria I
don't belong UTEP so where am I wrong
reading looking back now I see when I
was young I didn't understand the
complex nature of grace I'm looking back
I actually see that I was a young girl
struggling by my identity and not quite
sure where I belong because of this I've
all really insecure so a lot of the time
I wouldn't go out without makeup I would
need to eat in public because I was
almost certain that someone was looking
at me and they might not have been you
can because of my color but in my head
it was just that reason and that was a
problem in school I wasn't really drawn
to the math and the science so I would
just know all that that out and I just
wasn't so great in that so a nice brown
belt things changed because I realized I
could then study something that I was
connecting it film as an art form to
express myself and my feelings and
sharing my opinions I'm not being the
culprit I found a way to express myself
and then once people would look at what
I was doing I'm not exactly how I looked
and I was a game changer for me I found
a way to express myself I find a way to
say was online
it shall not be thinking of somebody's
looking at me or judging me because of
the red looks but just suppose of my
talents about what's really important
being elected and I saw what I can do I
know what I looked like
filmmaking filmmaking is an attorney for
quite a few years now and the first film
looking back now the first film that I
made the one that I wrote and directed
was titled hazel and this was a film
about a young biracial girl fells trying
to find her identity in a predominantly
white community this Center looks at me
about how I was trying to search like
Robyn Thomas being recommend because to
me when I first know so okay I can see
through film that was the first thing I
wanted to say a love affair but people
see here stop judging because way that
it goes through the years now I his film
to speak about terrorism to speak about
politics to speak about identity and you
see and for me it's great because I'm
being listened to and I might be quite
good at it
but once I can say okay yes I'm good at
something and I keep about acknowledging
backs and I was really good for me over
the years concepts over the past two
years scum has also been assaulted
something I got married in 2017 and
since then I also have three pregnancy
losses now I would have let that define
me I would have gone back into my shell
and not really understood where it is
that I'm doing
when in the past few years I've also
made the best work yet I produced and
directed the short film and not corrupt
which went viral I directed and produced
my first documentary Marx which is about
struggle Marx
vacations in Nigeria that has been
recognized nationally internationally I
have also been working on some works
that I'm really proud of and I launched
my foundation which was a safe space for
people like me to speak up about how
they p.m. so throughout my journey and
throughout my security stump is always
always saying the contents in my life
we've always been the thing that I want
to to feel comfortable to feel safe and
for me that's a big deal buying
something in my life that I can do and
make money from but also feel
comfortable doing it and I love what I
do I may not be oh I may want to be the
best young that years come the best
young don't make that smart of Nigeria
or the youngest artist to win an Oscar
but for me it's not about the
destination but it's about the focus and
consistency in my journey that will
determine whether I get there or not I
guess you can say outside of the chaos
in my mind because I Know Who I am and
I'm no longer defined by how I look what
people judge me because of that but
because I can actually speak up through
my arts thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
you