The highly acclaimed and thought-provoking short film DEFUND made its international premiere on Vimeo this month. The film, which made its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and was named one of Canada’s Top Ten films, follows the story of millennial twins as the audiences witness their experiences during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. We caught up with the creators of the film, actors-turned-directors Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, and Araya Mengesha, to discover more about them and discuss the project further.
Thank you both for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Congratulations on your careers to date. How did you get into the arts?
Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah: Thank you for chatting with us. I feel very lucky to have always known that this is what I wanted to do. I was a very artistically expressive child, visual art was my first love and I was in all of the school plays and choirs throughout public school. It was a production of Grease in my final year of high school where I played Rizzo that really made me recognize that I wanted to pursue a career in the arts. I went on to study theatre performance in college and sort of hit the ground running after that.
Araya Mengesha: I started as a child actor. I was about 10 when an agent actually was looking to sign my older cousin, who was transitioning out of acting and into directing. She pretty much told the agent, “I’m not acting anymore, but meet this kid.” Enter me and my little monologue from the Jim Carrey movie ‘The Mask’ and my acting career was born. I was fortunate enough to originate the role of Young Simba as part of the original cast in the Canadian production of Disney’s The Lion King. I got to work on a bunch of film/tv projects and eventually become the host of Discovery Kids International/YTV’s ‘Mystery Hunters’, which took me all over the world investigating mysteries that kids would be interested in seeing. I’ve gone on to work on productions big and small ever since in film/tv and theatre.
Who are your biggest industry influences, and why?
K: I’m endlessly inspired by the drive of folks like Issa Ray, Viola Davis, and Ava DuVernay. They bring an unapologetic authenticity to their work that makes me feel seen in ways that I hadn’t always felt as a black woman. Issa Ray especially talks about this idea of lateral growth- looking to those around you who are just as hungry to create and collaborate with them. That’s exactly how this film was made and how I want to continue creating. I’m always going to look to my peers whose work I admire when it comes time to build a team for my next projects. I’m also a huge horror fan, so right now I’m into anything that Jordan Peele or Robert Eggers are doing.
A: I would also say Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jordan Peele, Mel Brooks, Denzel Washington, Francis Ford Coppola, the list goes on and on. I love creators that come to story from a perspective that layers in social commentary with unique and visceral visuals. To make something that is emotionally engaging, entertaining, and has something new to offer every time you come back to view is such a huge feat to accomplish.
We’re here to discuss your film DEFUND. Congratulations on the film’s international premiere on Vimeo this month. Please share with us the origins of the film and what audiences can expect
K: DEFUND is through and through an act of community solidarity. At the height of the BLM movement and lockdowns of 2020, I was receiving a lot of messages from folks who were eager to commiserate over the appalling nature of the many acts of police violence that we had been hearing about. One message that stuck out was from my friend, J Stevens. They reached out to say that they as a white artist with a particular skillset and resources wanted to support whatever I had to say about what I was witnessing in the world. I turned to Araya, who was my roommate and an artist that I admired to ask if he wanted to collaborate. We started writing DEFUND- a story that encapsulates the feelings of confinement we were living through during the pandemic along with the desire to enact some sort of change beyond signing petitions and marching in rallies.
A: Everything she said.
The film received its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and was named one of Canada’s Top Ten films. It also received the 2021 South Western International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Canadian Film. How much of an impact has this had on the film?
K: I want to believe that the merit of the film is why we got into as many festivals as we did, but I can’t deny that the laurels and praise that we got from the first leg of our festival run is a huge reason for the success that we’ve had. From TIFF to FNC to SWIFF and on to so many others, we’ve had people championing this film and championing us every step of the way.
A: Absolutely. The acknowledgment and validation of those festivals have been incredible, but ultimately we made this film for people, who wouldn’t necessarily have access to a film festival’s curated selections, to watch and engage with the ideas we’ve tried to express.
DEFUND is the directorial debut for you both. Do you see your careers leaning towards working behind the camera?
K: I’ve always known that I wanted to move towards directing but didn’t think it would happen so early on in my experience as a filmmaker. I’m thankful that the opportunity to make DEFUND gave me the nudge I needed to step into that role because now I’m eager to direct something else. Acting and performing will always be my first passion, but I’m going to continue writing, producing, and directing. I’ve got a few projects cooking that I’m excited to flex my multi-hyphenate skills on both in front of and behind the camera.
A: Ditto for me. It’s always been a game of expanding the ways and means of storytelling, so to have this project be this first is so special. I’ve got a feature film project that I’m pursuing next and I’d love to continue to wear as many hats as possible, eventually, I’d love to be a conduit for other people to tell their stories.
The film addresses both current and very pertinent issues. What do you think will be the mid to long-term impact BLM and the pandemic will have on society?
K: The pandemic will go down as one of the most devastating experiences of our lifetime, but one good thing to come out of it is the great pause that forced us to look at the ways that we function as a society. I think we’re all a little more aware of the injustices that certain communities are faced with on an ongoing basis. Of course, the awareness of police brutality is something that the Black community and others have known about for quite some time, but it feels like the rest of the world is finally starting to catch up. I love that there are community efforts in many parts of the world that are mobilizing to create alternatives to policing for non-violent emergencies and I hope that’s something we’ll see a lot more of.
A: The BLM movement and all of the other social movements we’ve seen capture the public attention over the last few years, all stem from the desire to have a society that is equitable and safe for as many people as possible. My hope is that as the world ramps up again, we remember those moments in that big screeching halt of 2020. We all experienced something together and even though it was disproportionately felt by some more than others, that’s a starting point of common experience. We can decide to let that common experience be something that continues to bind us together, be a jumping off point, and not let ourselves drift apart.
What other projects are you working on?
K: I’m currently in my first season at the Stratford Festival and feeling very privileged to be performing on stages that have been graced by some of the finest actors to ever work in Canada. I’m playing a character named Grace in the world premiere of Sunny Drake’s Every Little Nookie and understudying Jo and Beth in Jordi Mand’s adaptation of Little Women. When I’m not performing, I’m writing for one of the two shows that I currently have in development. One is a half-hour dark comedy about a group of millennials that are forced to fight off racist, evil spirits in a cabin in the woods. The other is a historical sci-fi drama that also explores themes of race with a powerful queer couple at the helm.
A: I have a feature film project called ‘The Section’ that is based on a proof of concept I shot in 2019 at the Canadian Film Centre and a few new projects that I’m excited to eventually share with the public soon.
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects?
K: I’m on Instagram and Twitter @djpaulydij where you can see updates about the projects I’m working on and look at photos of the food I’m making.
A: My insta is @callmemistertibbs and twitter is @ah_rye_ah. Those are usually the best places to find out what I’m doing and where I’ll be popping up next.
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