Selection COMING SOON

“Ekwa Msangi’s impressive debut tells the story of three immigrants who haltingly attempt to rebuild a family and a home in Brooklyn”

IndieWire Sundance Studio (Video)

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

The Batman: What Jayme Lawson Learned from Her Debut Film Farewell Amor (Video)

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

To Become an American Filmmaker, Ekwa Msangi Found Her African Voice

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

‘Farewell Amor’ Is An Immigrant Story That Explores The Effects Of Separation – Sundance Studio

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

The biggest breakout stars of Sundance 2020

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

At Sundance, a Glorious Diversity of Voices Breaks Through

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

‘Farewell Amor’ Is A Character Study On Loss, Reconnection And Second Chances

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

‘Farewell Amor’: Film Review

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

‘Farewell Amor’: Film Review

“The simple humanism here makes the case for nurturing and celebrating America’s immigrant population in a more eloquent and persuasive way than a more polemical film ever could. Whatever the case, “Farewell Amor” marks the arrival of an exciting new talent in Msangi, with the three lives it details doubtlessly representing only the tip of an iceberg of stories she has yet to tell. The “Farewell” of the title is misleading — not only because the film starts and ends with new beginnings, but because Msangi just got here, and if there’s any justice, she’ll not be going away anytime soon.”

2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: 118 FEATURE FILMS ANNOUNCED

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION Farewell Amor / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ekwa Msangi, Producers: Huriyyah Muhammad, Sam Bisbee, Josh Penn) — Reunited after a 17 year separation, Walter, an Angolan immigrant, is joined in the U.S. by his wife and teenage daughter....

OkayAfrica

May 16, 2016 (Farewell Meu Amor)

BBC Network Africa

April 23, 2011 (Taharuki) *Audioclip. Interview with director starts at 4:27 mins

Black Panther: Open Letter [in praise of] director Ryan Coogler

Comrade Ryan!   What a magnificent triumph and a blessing your latest film is! As an African female filmmaker, born in Oakland and raised in Kenya, I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate you for the epic that you have pulled off with the...

Self Care in a Time of Madness…

  So Charlottesville and the KKK. And Barcelona. And any number of non-Western countries going through all sorts of political shit and bigotry right now. And eclipses. And capitalism. Just all of it. It's beyond exhausting. I've never dreaded logging onto social...

First there was Sarafina!, and now The Queen of Katwe

It's hard to explain what it's like to have grown up NEVER seeing your own image in a movie or TV show except in crisis on the news. I know people talk about that a lot, especially in this age of pushback on the lack of diversity and representation in film and...

Not-for-Profit African Filmmaking

I've never considered how deeply steeped in Western culture screenwriting is until I had to teach it in Swahili. Seriously yo, by the end of the day my brain is thoroughly fried trying to find ways to explain "the inciting incident" and "character patterns" and...

Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can!

That's the chant that was in my head this morning when I woke up! I've been reaching out far and wide, to friends, relatives and press people to talk about the work that we're doing here, and as I was jotting down some notes to think of all the reasons why folks...

Telling Our Family Stories…

This weekend I'm at a family wedding in Tennessee. If you know anything about me, you'll know that my family is huge, and we're spread out all over the world, and that I love this crazy group to death! My family gave me my first introduction to storytelling. As a...

Tanzania Hoiyeee!!

Hello, hello, hello Comrades! I'm just back from an exciting trip to Tanzania where I was working on my first feature documentary project, taking the first exciting steps of it that is. And what a fabulous time it was to be there, not only reflecting on the legacy of...

Diet Racism?!

CollegeHumor's Favorite Funny Videos For those of us who are in denial of racism existing outside of the Confederate South or anywhere else for that matter...I give you Racism Lite! (Disclaimer, racism is racism. There is no such thing as "better" racism or "more...

The Family that Fights together!!

So I just spent the week with my nephew and his new Wii U game. What an education its been! Seriously, I wonder who I would have become had I not grown up in such a low-tech environment you know? I mean, this kid is eight and he literally RAVISHES technology, like...

My Decree: I Refuse to Go Numb.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started and re-started this entry but I’m obliged to say SOMETHING. The line my brain keeps repeating is: DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T GO NUMB. DON’T...

Welcome to Lagos!

For the following post, I shan’t name any names when it comes to the airline itself (cough, cough, Arik Airlines! Cough) but lets just say, the adventure didn’t end after check in at the airport. It wasn’t a full flight, which is always great. I set myself off, dozed...

The Reluctant Blogger Returns! Again!

I know, I know, I say the same thing every time I disappear. I think I need to stop apologizing and just get to it: its been that kind of a year. So there was Congo, then 4 months in Cuba (which, by the way, the US State Department doesn’t allow me to blog about while...

Congo Update:

So just to let you know that I was wrong about everything. Every last thing on my list ala #New Year, New You. Everything except the lack of enough veggies...though it's not as bad as I imagined. Oh and also I'm fighting a cold but not due to over-ACing. Also, I'm...

Casablanca/In the Moment

Talk about blowing my mind! What a beautiful and quaint city that was.  I had a 12 hour layover on my way to Brazzaville, so my colleague and I decided to get a cab and go see the city a little. We didn’t see very much, but it was perfect for a quick trip. A little...

New Year, New You! (well in this case, new me…)

  So I’m writing from my corner of the Royal Maroc Airline on my way to Tazama African Women’s Film Festival in Congo Brazzaville (not to be confused with the more commonly known and referred to, Congo Kinshasa, the country previously known as Zaire.) This is my...

The Closing Ceremony

The word “Spectacle” was made for this reason: in order to describe the closing ceremony. Growing up in Kenya, the only time there would be this level of pomp and circumstance is in celebration of political heroes during a national holiday where the president is going...

March 1, 2013

It’s hard to explain where all the time has gone or what it’s been like here. It’s such a dusty little town with the most amazing architecture and buildings and movie theatres and all this…its really quite incredible. It’s as though there isn’t anything new in the...

Burkina Oui! (Feb. 23rd, 2013)

What an amazing place this is! Its hard to put into words what this experience is like but I’ll try where I can and leave out what I can’t. Listen, I know there’s plenty of corruption, I know most of the money isn’t being spent in the way that it should be and that...

Oui Ouaga Oui!

Just checked into the Relax Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso for the 23rd Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO)! My film Taharuki shows on Monday and Tuesday. Very psyched!

Bullshit Mountain and its Trickle-down…

Okay so I'm actually beginning to get scared now with these people. At first laughing at their ridiculousness was almost cute. Now? Not so much. Do these people have NO females living around them at all? You want to tell me they come out, say dumb shit like "God might...

The Cubana Chronicles: Wednesday April 11, 2012

 Dancing for Life I’m on a mission tonight: I’m going dancing no matter what. This whole week really. Until I leave, I MUST dance my ass off. There’s something so incredibly liberating about giving in to the move and the beat. About allowing yourself to let go and...

The Cubana Chronicles: Monday April 2, 2012

 A Living Religion (The Reluctant Blogger Returns!)          Alright listen, I’m not a dedicated blogger, I just like talking sometimes. And then sometimes its too much work. That’s what happened in the past month and change, too much work. And too much thinking about...

The Cubana Chronicles: Tuesday, February 21, 2012

 Art, Energy and Loans. Loving Common right now, who knew I was missing out so much? But all in its time. I listened to Common’s song “Assatta” and felt so fortunate and inspired seeing as she lives here. I need to figure out how to meet her, I’d love love love to....

The Cubana Chronicles: Friday February 17, 2012

How Can I Be Down? Practicing my photoshop skills today while listening to Common and waiting for my weekly NYU call. So I’ll go ahead and admit it – I’ve never owned an album by Common before yesterday. This Cuban brother Amehel...

The Cubana Chronicles: Sunday February 5, 2012

 Oh God of All Creation So its taken me a while to finally “land” here. I feel like I’ve been looking at Cuba and my experience here as though I were watching fish swimming around in a tank, explaining to the tourists how the fish act and react...

The Cubana Chronicles: Sunday January 29, 2012 9:36pm

The Amazing Floats of Bejucal     It’s been exactly a week since we arrived. Feeling pretty settled in, but still need to get my own groove on. I’m sure this week will be different since the work actually starts now. Need to practice my...

The Cubana Chronicles: Thursday Jan 26th, 2012

 Living as a Cuban Such an ungodly hour to be awake but I wanted to be up early to make sure I did some journaling today. Had big plans to go to a jazz show last night but woke up with the worst raging headache one could ever imagine so that didn’t happen at all. I...

The Cubana Chronicles: Sunday January 22, 2012

Si Cuba! Cuba! What a long day, and yet I can feel the enthusiasm peeping out bit by bit. Fighting a cold for real…or maybe I’m losing the fight and need to surrender and just have a cold already? That’s pretty much the case right now. So I’m living at Casa Vera in...

Si Cuba Si!

3 glorious months in Cuba, can't wait to tell you all about it... Click here to see my pictures...

Nigeria-O!!

Photo diary from my first trip to Nigeria: UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!!

West Indian Day Parade 2011

Once again, my all time favorite parade in New York! Where everyone is free to be and feel exactly who they were born to be...stretch marks, love handles, thick thighs and all! Fabulous music, food, colors, culture and people...wine an bend ovah!

Mediocre…as Compared to What?

So the other day I had a heated debate with a chap who thought that a certain African film that I adore was “crap” because it had “no depth” and was thus “mediocre” and not worth supporting. He said he was opposed to supporting an African film just for the fact that...

Why “Viva Riva!” Matters…

Okay, so I've been raving about this film for weeks now. Yes, it's super hot, yes it's super sexy, yes its action-packed and all else. Fantastic. But believe it or not, I'm not just a groupie. (Well, not JUST a groupie!) Let me explain why Viva Riva! matters in the...

Berlin!

So Iwas in Berlin for 10 days attending the Babylon International 2011 Script Development Workshop and what a trip that was! My first time in Europe (airport transits not included!) and certainly my first in a country where i ABSOLUTELY don't speak the language, and...

Si Cuba!

For whatever reason I never cease to be amazed by how familiar Cuban folkloric dance is. I'm fairly sure I was a Cuban musician in a past life, its the only explanation that makes sense. I mean, I know about the slaves who were brought over and preserved the music and...

Restless in Brooklyn…

April is always such a hectic month in New York with all the big film festivals and networking parties. Who knew networking is so much work?! Aside from all the meeting and greeting, then you have to take cards, follow up, come up with witty and memorable things to...

Viva Riva!

So Friday night was the New York premiere of the highly acclaimed, highly anticipated, and award-winning Congolese film "Viva Riva!" by Djo Tunda wa Munga, and boy what a treat that was! Alright, I'll get right to the point: this film was violent and SEXY! And as...

Brilliant $#!* for the week…

"At the risk of sounding ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by feelings of love." -Che Guevara 

It Will Come Indeed!

Happy New Year peeps! I know, its already the end of the month, but it usually takes me a while to catch up to January so...there you have it! Been toiling away and super thankful that I can work mostly from home 'coz this winter snow situation is officially out of...

Heavy Hearted Holidays…

The train at my stop was messed up today 'coz someone committed suicide by jumping onto the tracks. That shit sucks. And while I don't support taking one's own life, I definitely feel that end of year pressure. Nevermind that its about to snow and bluster like it did...

Behind the Scenes on “Suspense”

Shooting date: November 6 & 7, 2010 Cast: Miriam Chemmoss (Waridi), Gilbert Owuor (Kevin), Chris Kamau (Intruder) Crew: Ekwa Msangi-Omari (Dir), Kia Barbee (Producer), Inna Braude (Consulting Producer), Milton Kam (Dir of Photography), Ela Thier (AD) Behind the Scenes...

Ah! The Power of Media…

So this little gem has been going around the internet and I had the pleasure of checking it out today, and really, what can one say? With youtube these days its hard to tell how much of this is sincere and how much is staged but regardless, this is what I appreciate...

Why? ‘Coz the Africans Aren’t Generic in this Movie!

Dear Comrades, What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been! Putting together all the intricate details and bringing an entire film production together is no joke! (Much less of a joke when calling in so many favors!) Thank you all for the wonderful support,...

What Do Africans Think About Africa/ns?

Dear Comrades, As you know, I’ve spent the past three weeks preparing and raising money to shoot a short film, Suspense.  What started out as “my little film exercise” has quickly morphed into something a lot larger – and we haven’t even shot the film yet! I’m both...

9 DAYS LEFT TO MAKE A MOVIE TOGETHER!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the support, word-spreading and contributions  that you’ve sent so far, we’re definitely feeling (and appreciating) the love! This week as energy was sagging just a little bit, one of my actors shared their experience of being...

16 DAYS TO GO! JOIN US AND MAKE A MOVIE!

Dear Comrades, Thank you for all the contributions, support and encouragements thus far! We’re working hard getting ready for the shoot, just hired a fabulous make-up artist with lots of experience creating blood and gore (woohoo!) and continuing with the outreach to...

African-American films turning Nigerian?

Recently a friend sent me this link to an African-American movie trailer and was lamenting at how god-awful the film seemed. I clicked on the link with lowered expectations, but was surprised to find that really all it was was a Nigerian-style movie with higher...

Beware of the Sade!!

The day started off being super-shitty with a pinch of "punch you in the gut" today and I did the worst thing possible: put on some Sade. Now, I actually know better than that. This has happened to me before. It usually starts out with good intentions, and before you...

What if: Obama was a Muslim!!!

I'm sorry, I just don't get it. I don't understand what all the hype is about. Seriously, the way people say that shit, you'd think he was a child-molestor and people needed to beware and keep their kids from sleeping over at the White House or something. I mean, how...

West Indian Parade

I truly, truly love the West Indian Day Parade. For me, its a celebration of culture, the gift that Africa has given to the world. I also admire how Carribean people deal with body image, they seem to have a much healthier outlook on things than most of the rest of...

Six Heat Waves

…does six heat waves seem normal to you? Seriously? I’m just saying…

The African Accent

In the same way that an actor can state his skill in British, Indian, Norweigian or Scottish accents on their resume, he or she can also now add “African.” [insert eye roll here.]

Acting Small

What [creative person] that you know needs to be reminded that they can work at full capacity and stop acting small in order to make others look good?

Steppin’ Out

Alright well, here I am world! No bells, no whistles, just time to step on out and make it known: I've got things to say folks! Consider yourself warned...