Hello, my name is Kidist, and I am a senior Film major and multi-disciplinary, experimental artist in exile with a focus in film. Through the cinematic arts, photography, and writing, my practice makes use of traditional African storytelling and folklore to observe and express the realities of Black folk on the margins. My work emphasizes the conditions of colonialism, displacement, gender, and class.

I'm launching this fundraiser for my thesis film, "Tizita, Wedey" which will be shot March 14-17, 2025. "Tizita, Wedey" is a short experimental film following a former Eritrean jazz musician in exile, confronting fatherhood and the cost of displacement after the martyrdom of his son and liberation of his homeland. This film follows in the tradition of exilic and third cinema, exploring themes such as homeland, exile and return.

This film is a very personal project, drawing significantly from my own lived experience.

“Tizita, Wedey”– translating to “Nostalgia, My Son,” is a close up exploration of a father who navigates the fragmenting and profoundly disorienting impacts of a universal experience–death, under cruel circumstances.

My production team and I intend to use the funds raised to cover:

1. Quality and reliable equipment

2. Set design/dressing and prop expenditure

3. Meals and craft services for cast and crew

4. Transportation for cast and crew

5. Lodging for out of town crew members

6. Post production (sound, music rights, etc.)

With your generous support, shooting this meaningful film will be possible. I am incredibly appreciative of all those who read, share, and donate to my fundraiser. Thank you.