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Is My Living In Vain

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Is My Living in Vain is a meditation on the continuing history and emancipatory potential of the Black church as a space of diasporic belonging, affirmation and community organising. Weaving together archival imagery, oral histories and 16mm shot footage on location.





Directors Spotlight


Ufuoma Essi

Director

Ufuoma Essi (b. 1995, London) is a video artist and filmmaker from Lewisham, South East London. She works predominantly with film and moving image as well as photography and sound. Her work revolves around Black feminist epistemology and the configuration of displaced histories. The archive forms an essential medium for her and it is through explorations with the archive that she aims to interrogate and disrupt the silences and gaps of political and historical narratives. Previous exhibitions and screenings include Barbican Centre, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Maysles Documentary Center, New York, South London Gallery; Lisson Gallery, London; and Chisenhale Studios, London.



  • Year: 2022
  • Runtime: 41 minutes
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Language: English
  • Director: Ufuoma Essi
  • Cinematographer: Cheryl Hess, Morgan K Spencer
  • Editor: Ufuoma Essi
  • Producer: Ufuoma Essi, Leah McGurk, Artina Michelle
  • Sound Design: Ines Adriana
  • Premiere: United States