Bubblegum Club

Tag: Senay Berhe

  • Afripedia to launch new platform to connect creatives with clients and each other

    Afripedia to launch new platform to connect creatives with clients and each other

    Africa’s representation has been exhausting – it’s typically about poverty and her friends, disease, unemployment and corruption. From the West, Africa is every NGOs wet dream or just one long sad story. Now being raised in Sweden with strong Ethiopian and Eritrean roots, Teddy Goitom and Senay Berhe knew the pitiful narrative. It all changed when they traveled to the continent in 2009 and witnessed its “hidden” glory for themselves.

    This exposure was revolutionary for Teddy and Senay. As seasoned directors, they were compelled to use the power of film to capture how fellow creatives were navigating themselves on the continent and releasing their creative expressions. Behold, the birth of Afripedia, a visual guide for African creatives.

    Created by Teddy, Senay, and fellow director of Stocktown Films, Benjamin Taft, the documentation of Afripedia’s content began on that 2009 journey to Ethiopia, Ghana and Burkina Faso. The trio are film heavy weights and have been innovating visual storytelling since the late ‘90s and Afripedia’s gripping and spirited essence is a testament to the mastery the trio have over this medium.

    The foundation of Afripedia is to develop the imagining of Africa, hence the determination to share the documented stories with Swedish television, as well as the world. The initial process to gain Swedish co-producers and sponsorship was difficult because these potential partners wanted a European voice to narrate these African stories. However, Afripedia values the voice of the storyteller and the ownership of their narrative so Teddy, Senay and Benjamin financed their own productions.

    The project of Afripedia was fuelled by a DIY mentality, with extensive research and nurturing global connections. YouTube and film festivals added to Afripedia’s reach and gained the site some funding in the end. The result being five short films being released in 2014 – Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, and Angola. Since the launch of these films, Afripedia has been part of more than 80 film festivals, the films have been shown on SABC, BET and Afridocs. Ethiopian Airlines, KLM and Kenya Airways have included the films on their in-flight entertainment.

    These insightful films took about five years to complete and with the burning desire to continue the work they have started, Teddy and Senay have begun extending their documentaries into an actual database where the creatives can be found. This idea expands Afripedia into a platform on which African creatives can be recruited by clients and connect with each other in order to build their team.

    The platform focuses on African creatives talented in production, so photographers, stylists, art directors, film directors, illustrators, graphic designers and animators. Before the platform is released in May 2018, Teddy and Senay are currently inviting prominent and emerging creative talent from Africa and the diaspora to join. When it is available to the public, the curated platform will be a virtual booking system, way to connect creatives and clients, and a digital portfolio.

    To keep up with the innovative ways Afripedia is elevating the exposure of African creativity, subscribe to their site here.

  • The Human Touch and Sensibility Inherent in the Photographic work of Senay Berhe

    The Human Touch and Sensibility Inherent in the Photographic work of Senay Berhe

    Senay Berhe is a self-taught image creator from Stockholm, Sweden predominantly known for his work in the film industry. But what needs to be foregrounded among his other talents, is his still imagery. His creation of visual eye candy. Eye candy coated with deep depth of field, contrasted areas that melt into darkness, natural lighting and settings, traditional composition and rich tones. Silhouetted forms are lent a godlike stature with a magnificent glow around their faces, an appraisal of beauty perhaps? Moving away from his sweeping portraits, you are met with halting documentary images so vivid that they come across as the actual occurrence captured, not just a copy of real life.

    His day-to-day profession as a film director has granted him access to the world as a traveler and he has thus been able to create images in New York, across African cities, as well as in the city he grew up in.

    Fixated with images ever since he can remember, he was determined to find a career related to their production. Affirming his passion for the still image he expresses, “It was about two years ago that I really fell in love with photography again. I always loved photography and had been shooting occasionally, but now I’m obsessed with it and shoot every day. I set a goal a year ago: to at least take one photo a day that I’m satisfied with.”

    The first moments of documentation started taking hold of his creative being as a teenager. He was driven by a desire to document the graffiti and skateboarding culture that influence him. Senay reveals his current image creation tools to me as a Fuji X 2 pro, a 23mm (35mm) f/1.4 lens that he prefers for low lighting conditions and portraiture work.

    “I see my own photography as visual poetry and my work often surrounds or reflects my own emotions. It allows me to communicate what I don’t say in words. I’m quite interested in the mundane, ordinary everyday life situations and finding the beauty and surrealism in that. I look for details and tend to shoot a lot of urban life. Maybe because that’s how I live.” Senay’s imagery flows in a painterly fashion and conveys strong heart felt emotions. Emotions that are representative of his ability to identify with the people he portrays with immense dignity.

    Reflecting on his practice Senay explains that he regards it as an act of documenting the now for the future. He sees his photographic work as an attempt at understanding himself and the world around him. “It makes me stay curious and takes me places, forces me to interact with people, and allows me to challenge myself, my perceptions and my beliefs.”

    Senay highlights the qualities that he looks for in an image to me as beauty and simplicity. He goes on to say that he is speaking about how his subject relates to their surroundings in that moment, as well as the quality of light. “I love shooting documentary because of the element of surprise, and that’s always what I’m trying to recreate when creating an image. The aim has always been to make it feel as natural as possible, with a human touch and sensibility.”

    Senay’s photographic work can be regarded as a personal documentation of the world he sees around him. His images are powerful due to the fact that they carry real emotion and a human touch and sensibility. His creation of literal eye candy, makes it difficult to look away from them or forget them. The rich tonal values combined with immense contrast are indicative of his subjective view oozing with emotion. Senay’s work is a feeling.

    He will be having an exhibition of his work in the beginning of April in Stockholm.