Who I Was, I Still Am: An Immigrant Story

Hey! Thank you so much for be willing to donate to this documentary. If you don't know me, my name is Rokya Samake and I will be spending my summer visiting the Ivory Coast with my dad. My dad, Sam, was born in the Ivory Coast and like many immigrants moved to the U.S. in search of a better life. However, in the search for better, much of our family history as well as early memories of my father's life remain unknown to me. Who I Was, I Still Am is a cinematic recovery of what gets lost when a person chooses to leave their homeland and starts a family in another one.

I am using the funds from this campaign to support buying equipment that I will take with me to film the documentary in Ivory Coast. Buying the equipment is more cost effective than renting because I will be out of the country for majority of the summer. Equipment I plan to buy include a camera (body and lens), gimbal, video tripod, sound recorder, mics, and incidentals such as SD cards, hard drives, and travel cases.

Anything you have to give is immensely appreciated. If you know me, you know that I have talked about this project for some time. It is close to my heart because my father has been the greatest example of unconditional love for me. I want to honor his story because his story is one of the many immigrants stories that exists in this world. I am doing this for all of the children of immigrants who long to better understand their parents and how they came to whatever part of the world you now call home. This is a shared story and I need help to tell it. Thank you!

With love, Rokya.