An Ode to My Lover(s): Behind The Scenes
About The Piece
An Ode to My Lover(s) is a short video made as an entry video for Sundance's Ignite fellowship program. The video serves as sort of a prequel to my upcoming short film, Lavender. It features the cast of the film as well as a poem written exclusively for the film. Lavender is about intimacy, heartbreak, and healing through a queer lens. The images capture the story in its most vulnerable and rawest state.
About The Artist
Kaia Naadira is filmmaker and photographer originally from the historic city of Selma, Alabama. Kaia’s work is inspired by and almost exclusively centers stories from the black, queer community, often with an experimental twist. Believing in centering truth in all their work, many of their projects are informed by real moments in their own life to remind people that they are not alone. Kaia briefly attended Howard University for film, but is largely self taught finding the biggest lessons have come from making connections, building community, co-developing projects, and using their experiences to learn and grow as an artist. Their work has been screened at the BlackStar Film festival in Philadelphia where they won an Audience Award for best short in their age group as well as the Black Trans Media film festival and Revolve Film Festival. They currently reside in New York and are looking forward to the next adventure.