Oluwaseun Babalola is a force. I met her in 2019 when we talked about her docuseries “ṢOJU,” which focuses on a different niche of the African community around the world. She is multi-faceted as her work as a producer (“Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches,”), director, and founder of the organization Kosinima, Inc., a nonprofit that provides funding and career support for African and African diaspora creatives.
We talked about her newest project as she embarks on her narrative debut with the short film “Fighting Giants.” The film has been through production, and now she is raising funds for post-production. Donate, and help Oluwaseun reach her goal of $10K. Learn more how you can support this project: https://seedandspark.com/fund/fighting-giants#story
About the project, words from Oluwaseun Babalola
“Fighting Giants” is a film about refusing defeat. It’s about trying your best when the peaks seem hard to reach and mountains are hard to climb, and grappling with an environment that, for whatever reason, isn’t working in your best interest.
My name is Oluwaseun Babalola. As a Sierra Leonean, “Fighting Giants” is a personal story, and it is my first narrative short as a documentary filmmaker of over 10 years. It has an entirely Sierra Leonean production cast and crew, including Sierra Leonean actresses Emma Dyfan and Mariama Khadija.
My parents raised me with an understanding that I could do and accomplish anything. However, they also made me aware that many of the world’s established systems are not meant to uplift and/or protect people like me. That never became more apparent than when my sister went missing in Sierra Leone a few years ago.
I, along with the rest of my family, was left with many questions unanswered–a direct result of corruption, injustice, and the lack of interest in protecting Black women. These systems failed her and us, and I was left grappling with a profound sense of powerlessness and defeat from the inability to get to the bottom of the situation. Now, grabbing my power back, “Fighting Giants” is a personal way of expressing heartache and frustrations with the institutions that fail to care for us.
This story is specific to Sierra Leone, but I know, in many ways, that it is universal. Many of us do not have the tools or outlets to process traumas and in moments of crisis, we push away those closest to us and bury our thoughts and emotions deeper, destroying ourselves in the process. I’m not just making a film; I’m a part of a reclamation of narratives celebrating the strength and voices within our communities. I am re-energizing timely conversations as we evaluate things we need to learn, unlearn, and embrace within our identities and upbringings.
“Fighting Giants” was filmed earlier in 2024 and is currently in post-production. This is where I need your help. This campaign will finalize the film, covering costs for the post-production team and funding the film’s distribution: a festival strategy and social impact screenings.
Stretch goals
With your help, the film will raise $7,500. If we do so before the 30-day campaign is over, we would love to stretch the fundraising goal to $10K, further enabling the film to be shared via in-person appearances, private screenings, and impact producing–a method that maximizes the potential of this film for social change.
Support: https://seedandspark.com/fund/fighting-giants#story
Oluwaseun Babalola is a DOC NYC 40 under 40 Honoree, award-winning director, Emmy-nominated producer, exhibited photographer, and nonprofit founder/executive director. She has produced for networks such as CNN, HBO, CNBC, PBS, Netflix, AMC, Starz, and The Africa Channel. Her passion for storytelling led to the creation of Kosinima, Inc., a nonprofit that provides funding and career support for African and African diaspora creatives, including two short film grant funds for Black femme filmmakers and ṢOJU, a digital documentary series celebrating youth culture on the African continent.
