2026 So Far,
Film in Sicily &
Back in Berlin
31.05.2026
*some music to go with your read
**what I was listening to in Sicily
*some music to go with your read **what I was listening to in Sicily
I just spent 5 months in Senegal, and 1 week in Sicily.
Both trips happened for work, though I extended (twice) my stay in Senegal to live at home a bit. Luck found me there as my stay coincided with not only an incredible colloquium on Fanon at the Museum of Black Civlizations, but also our AFCON Final victory over Morocco, my second trip to Casamance, and the blessed month of Ramadan.
In my first blog post, I wanna tell you a bit about 2026 so far.
Thank you for being here, please enjoy.
I’m back in Berlin
Germaine Acogny receives her flowers, performing at the tender age of 83. Berlin, 25 May 2026.
also, for work.
On my first day back, I got to start a 2-day documenting job with Talking Objects Lab, shooting legendary dancer Germaine Acogny for an exclusive performance and an engaging panel talk at Radialsystem.
Coming back to Berlin, it feels good realizing how familiar I am with many facets of this city. The connection steadily deepens after 8 years.
I look forward to this summer, and it’s nice to be back in my Kreuzberg apartment—I cooked yesterday.
in Sicily,
I did cinematography on an art film directed by my friend Thomias Radin, one of my favorite artists. We’ve long talked about working together, and I visited his studio in summer 2024 when he signed with Esther Schipper Gallery.
I had a RED Cine cam & drone in my hands and the right people around to create timeless work with, which I am excited to share with you all once this project unfolds. It’s always exciting to have a good technical setup to feel as creatively free as possible. Thank you for the trust, Thomias.
I was listening to this song on our drive up one of the craters, you should hear it especially when you’re outside
Sharing taste is important, in a context where the quality of what you capture partly determines the success of your collaboration. Will you both be satisfied with each other’s vision?
I got the text from Thomias one morning in Dakar, and a few days later I shortened my stay in Dakar by 2 weeks for this project.
The crew was really awesome. I got to meet and work with Andrege Bidiamambu, Nicole Oike, and sound artist Maxime “Delawhere”, whose brilliant 3rd album just dropped yesterday.
Nicole assisted me with the camera and did her own stellar B-Cam operating.
Andrege is an incredible performer, you will see.
What stands out the most for me, reflecting on this experience, was (1) the confirmation that it is possible to direct gracefully regardless of pressure on set, and (2) I really appreciate joining a worry-free production, where all crew members grew into a small family, equipment needs were met, and the best hospitality in Catania.
I’ve enjoyed doing more cinematography for other directors over the last year. I shot a music video with Biko Voigts in September, a documentary short film with Demba Dia in February, and this recent art film in Sicily. Translating ideas into motion on screen is always a beautiful challenge.
One thing I’ll say about working with another director, is that it really matters that you share taste and trust each other’s vision.
Sharing the vision is more of trusting the concept laid out by the director, and being able to imagine the film for yourself. When you start to embody the project.
Do you have interesting conversations about arts, the world, and have other common interests? Do you like looking at light the same way? What about your favorite paintings, music, books, thinkers?
So, does the director like your camerawork, and visual language? This is where the overlap with sharing vision becomes more evident for me.
Thomias and I usually have deep exchanges on history, arts, dance & movement, and we share (culturally, morally, musically) an African/diasporic upbringing.
Do you trust the director’s ability to translate ideas into directives, into blocking and producing a worthy film? Those abstract ideas that they’re communicating to you in between production questions, can you take and develop them into your visual solutions?
Le Serment des ancêtres, Guillaume Guillon Lethière, 1823, Musée du Panthéon national haïtien
In this case, my respect for Thomias and his approach to art could only lead to a trusting relationship, in which he also fully heard and believed in my interpretation of this project.
Thankfully, it all came together brilliantly. I walked away with more experience, and deeper confidence in my camera skills.
*photos shot on iPhone using the Halide app
The landscapes, the people,
beautiful lines and detailed
architecture.
Sicily is a natural jewel beautified by its inhabitants.
Traveling through the valleys of Sicily felt just how you’d imagine,
and that’s what makes it so incredible.
*Halide is an app that lets you turn off AI processing of your images, so you get a real photo and not Apple’s AI clean-up of an image.
by the way,
*this was my first paid video gig (as you can probably tell) commissioned by my thesis supervisor Prof. Thomsen
my first time in Sicily, in 2017, we went to Vulcano on an excursion during my environmental science studies. We used geophysical and oceanographical technology with researchers from the German Space Agency, Ludwig-Maximilian University, and other universities in the world, to study a planetary analog of the Moon (an environment that resembles the Moon due to their unique properties (temperature, soil, solar irradiation, etc.).
Vulcano is where I learned to fly drones for visual purposes. We used a DJI Phantom 4 Pro to make a 3D render of the active volcano. A unique learning environment, for techniques I would later use often in my creative work.
last thing,
