Kandaka and the Black Pharaohs

Ainslee Alem Robson (dir.), Kidus Hailesilassie (collab.) (US), Iconem (scan data), Alsarah (comp.)
2021, film 180°, afro surr., doc., 9′, Fr. or Engl.

Designed specifically for 180° LED screen, this film is a tribute to Amanirenas, a one-eyed warrior Kandaka known for defeating Roman forces. Kandaka is the Nubian title for a revolutionary woman or queen. You have entered the ruins of the Kushite Empire through the perspective of Amanirenas, a one-eyed warrior Kandaka, known for defeating Roman forces. Boundaries were blurred between physical and digital, antiquity and photogrammetry. You visited Sudan’s pyramids and learned about the Black Pharaohs. You met Amanirenas herself as she awakens the spirit of her past unleashing an indigenous consciousness of ancestral strength and femininity into the future.