Meet Patricia Geula & The Mysterious River in Portugal

Women's History Month Spotlights of Women Around the Globe

Author

MiFILM Admin
March 19, 2024

Spotlight on: Patrica Geula

Image Description: Patricia Geula, a brown-skinned woman with bright eyes, smiles at the camera. She’s wearing a black turtleneck sweater, gold hoop earrings, and a tie-die peach head wrap.

Born in Kenya, Patricia Geula garnered recognition by winning the 2022 Nairobi Film Festival Writer’s Prize for her forthcoming feature film “The Water Calls You” and was selected to participate in the Durban FilmMart 2022 after being selected for the Durban Talent Program. She spent the past seven years working under the umbrella of AFROBUBBLEGUM, a collective of African artists who aim to create fun, frivolous, and fierce work. There, she was mentored by award-winning filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu and had the privilege of shadowing the director on the set of Rafiki, which was the first Kenyan film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018.

Patricia is currently working on Zêzere, her short film that won the Internation Interfilm Berlin Script Pitch in 2023, and is a participant in the CineSud ShortsLab 2024 coaching program.

Brittany Frankin, Founder & President of MIFILM, sits down with Patricia to discuss community, the meaning of home, and their new collaboration on her latest film, Zêzere.

Brittany: You recently moved from Kenya to Lisbon. How was that transition, and how has it deepened your artistry?

Patricia: I have always leaned on my ability to comfortably traverse different spaces but the decision to settle in Portugal and create this new bond with a place was one that made me question my sense of belonging. I found myself sitting in many moments of reflection wondering what home means to me. And so as I was dealing with my internal sense of displacement, the rurality and calmness of Vale do Pereiro, the area I first came to in the interior of Portugal eased this transition. It reminded me of my own childhood, growing up on a farm in Cherang'any, Kenya. This environment where time moves differently in comparison to the demands of a city helped me connect to Portugal, a place whose language I didn’t even speak.
And so through the landscape around the river Zêzere, which I found completely breathtaking, I was soothed and able to put my projections, fears, longings into the film that I am now working on, called Zêzere.

B: When you think about younger Patricia Geula, her dreams, and hopes for her future, did you ever envision being where you are today?

I think one of the biggest privileges of my life is that since I was six years old, I knew I wanted to make films. It was 2001, and my father came home with our family’s first TV, the new JVC model. I would sit under the dining table, between peoples’ feet to watch whatever the adults had decided. And later, after winning a battle with one of my other siblings, I would go back, during a moment of privacy, place the VHS tape and rewatch whatever film that had earlier captured my mind. However, at that moment I did not know how this would be possible. People who made films were far from my reality.

I was now eight years old and living in a form of isolation on a farm with my elderly grandmother. I ended up creating such tender moments for myself by journeying into worlds that I created in my own mind. While walking through the maize fields, tea farm and sitting next to crackling fire, I found comfort, understanding and love among characters I had given my own struggles, my sense of confusion, abandonment and loneliness. They were the ones experiencing these things, not me. Hence, the journey to this moment since then has been surprising. I am grateful to have met Wanuri Kahiu [the writer/director of Rafiki] alongside other artists who became my mentors and teachers in the craft. It is from the support extended to me so generously that I have been able to achieve certain things thus far.

B: Zêzere is a story inspired by your love for a river! Could you tell us about this river and its significance to you? Why is it so special?

I love the Zêzere river. My only grief is that in many places alongside the river there is a plague of Eucalyptus which is often the fuel for the wildfires in summer. My first thought when I saw the river was that if I could, I would have left my soul there. It is magnificently beautiful so much so that I felt a sense of shame over the grief that I had been experiencing when I came upon it. This sense of awe and reflection of my own grief and of those that I know inspired the film Zêzere.

This is what nature does. Like the river, it goes on, wonderfully and gloriously so, as you the individual shrink within your own trepidation. In the film Zêzere, we turn an eye towards the intimacy of dealing with grief, the sense of aloneness brought about by loss and displacement.  Zêzere asks, what does it mean to belong and what gravity does the past, present and future hold in this process? Can we find courage through our shared vulnerability?

B: It’s so interesting how nature mirrors back what we may currently be facing interally. We talked about filmmaking being a long, ardent, and often lonely pursuit. What communities have embraced you so far on your journey?

First of all, shout out to my friends and family. I am also super grateful to the filmmaking community in Kenya and Portugal. The project received incredible support from the Interfilm International Film Festival Berlin and is now part of the Cinesud Shorts Lab Programme in the Netherlands. Additionally, spaces such as Casa do Comum in Lisbon that supported our pre-launch event. And Minorities in Film for giving me the platform to share this story so that it may reach a further audience that would connect to the Zêzere film.

B: Congratulations on your major directorial debut! We’re excited for your film to reach new audiences here in the U.S. How can our community help support you in this journey to production?

We have a crowdfunding campaign on www.seedandspark.com/fund/zezere

This is an invitation to the audience to join the village of support that will bring the film  Zêzere to fruition. You can do so in the following three ways:

1. PLEDGING: This is the most direct way to support the film. Every dollar counts and we have set up incredible incentives to show that we truly appreciate your support.

2. FOLLOW: Our Seed & Spark page as more followers equals MORE support from the platform, for example, if we hit 500 followers, we unlock an amazing filmmaker package!

3. SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN: By sharing with your friends and family, you help us connect to more people that we wouldn’t be able to. Follow us on Instagram, X(formerly as Twitter) & Facebook @thefilmzezere to stay up to date with our progress and re-share our posts to help get the word out about our campaign.

This Women’s Herstory Month, join us in uplifting Film Fatales, an intersectional and action-oriented arts nonprofit and advocacy organization championing underserved filmmakers of all marginalized genders. Explore their Online Auction featuring incredible opportunities from today’s top filmmakers. Bid to win set visits, shadowing opportunities, meet and greets, private consultations, and pitch sessions with today's top filmmakers! In the past decade, women filmmakers have accounted for less than 6% of directors on top grossing films. Non-binary and trans voices continue to be drastically marginalized. Film Fatales works to tear down these systemic inequities by nurturing community, demanding visibility and advocating for transformative change. The auction is live from March 5th through March 19th.

👇🏽HIRE HER 💸

This month, during the production slowdown, we’re switching things up and sharing women in our community who are currently #OpenToHire.

In 2022, Jacarrea was inducted into MiFILM’s Branded Lab, an intensive month-long accelerator designed for hidden gems to rise under pressure and become the breakout talent in advertising. Jacarrea is an insanely brilliant mind who brings her eye for design and poetic storytelling style to her projects that leave a lasting impression on her community and audience. Her work carries a profound sense of authenticity and innovation, challenging conventional norms while celebrating individuality and empowerment.

Is your creative team inspired by the work of Solange Knowles? Consider our girl Jacarrea, whose fearless creativity and commitment to pushing boundaries are similar.

Work With Us.

MiFILM curates programming to help underrepresented talent gain visibility. Are you looking to launch a mentorship program, hiring initiative, or community event, or do you need a co-production partner to help market your film? Email us at [email protected].

Reply

or to participate.