Brionne Olsen | South Africa | 2:59 | Short Film
Status: Official Selection
Assimilate is a representation of a single action or event that had a far reaching consequence. ASSIMILATE speaks from one vantage point of how it feels like to be robbed or stripped from one’s identity. I think that this is how every denomination, female, LGBTQ+ non-binary persons feel when your thoughts, ideas, values, persons are undermined by an act of simulation.
Leshabe Mpho Rampedi, a proud Pedi-man from the tribe of LIONS “BARITA BA BOSOLO (there’s no direct translation from Pedi to English for the tribe name). Son of his parents Mabitje and Nomvula. Leshabe, named after his Grandfather Leshabe Senior – “FOR THE PEOPLE”.
For as long as us humans have excited, our Identity has always been at the for front of human existence. That identity has always been linked to some sort of community. With that came the discussion of what is an acceptable portrayal of identity within such group.
South Africa has a history of segregational identity where groups and individuals have been either forced to assimilate into a societal group or dismissed entirely.
ASSIMILATE is the embodiment of what it means for groups or individuals to be disregarded by Governments, Faith based Originations and Mainstream Society at large. What is deemed acceptable by the Conservative movement as traditional family values of role purity and portrayed as the only way society should live.
ASSIMILATE in simple terms places the disadvantaged alongside the advantaged as they are stripped of their identity and replaced with a new, acceptable image. The short story makes use of simplicity to a much broader complexed discussion and to get the message across, I make use of racial dispositions as the base for the piece. The story has a broader representation of communities being marginalized from LGBTQ+ communities, to race and economic suppression.
Director Biography – Brionne Olsen
Aspiring Filmmaker, Photographer and Sound Designer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I am also a YouTuber and gear reviewer specifically for the Creative industry. I’ve worked in audio production, sonic branding and Sound Design for most of my adult life. I am also a Professional Voice Over Artist.