INDIGO FILM: COSTUME DESIGN
INDIGO
Directed by - Mona Okulla Obua
Description:
INDIGO is an afro-surrealist poetic visual voyage depicting the ethereal beauty of Black hair. The film follows two black German womxn and their different views on identity. With an open narrative structure partly based on poetry, the story eventually solidifies in a hair braiding ritual that offers healing through the transmission of ancestral knowledge. A conversation between the diaspora and the continent, tradition and the contemporary, past and future INDIGO is a statement rather than a story: to be black and German is a reality and not a utopia.
INDIGO was made by a group of black & brown filmmakers, mothers and female-identifying individuals in all key positions.
You can also follow the film’s instagram page here.
Credits:
Starring
Astan Meyer as Nila & Karmela Shako as Indigo
Directed by Mona Okulla Obua/Director of Photography Diara Sow/Production Manager Jesús Fernández de Castro/Line Producer Mona Okulla Obua/Assistant Director Tracy Kamphus /Assistant Camera Jessica Sattabongkot /Gaffer Richard Wellershoff/Light Technician Emiliano Granada/Best Boy Hannes Bohn/Editor Ibra Wane/Sound Design & Composition Oscar N. Atanga/Sound Paul Lorton & Cécile Perrot/Sound Assistant Mia-Marina Maganic/Sound Mixing Carlo Felice Napolitano Audrines/Set Design Fausto Torelli Tulissi/Set Design Assistants/Oleksandra Patoka & Lucas Rubio Albizu/Costume Zselyke Zoya Tárnai/Costume Assistant Faith Olive Ossiri/Make Up Artist Yohana van der Pool/Hair Artist Fily Mihan/Acting Coach Genifer Habbasch/Unit Manager Jesús Fernández de Castro/Pre Production Coordinator Kevin Borgböhmer/Pre Production Coordinator Naima Wachter/Set Manager Sarah Bennani Rtal/Set Runner Niklas Dürr/Set Runner Esé Oghene/Driver Ana Rita dos Santos Póvoas/Script Translation Kondo Heller/Graphic Design Chikoba Masonga/Color Grading Claudia Maneka Maharaj
Funded by
Impact Förderung -Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa
Awarded:
German Special Film Prize 2023 at the German International Short Film Festival 2023
2nd Place Award 2023 at International Monologues & Poetry Film Festival 2023
Additionally Screened at:
Zebra Poetry film Festival 2023
New York Tri-State Film Festival 2024
Tokyo International Short Film Festival 2024
Costume design journey & thought
As the costume designer for this film, I worked closely with the director as well as the set design team to bring to life the intricate symbols and historical references of the film. The costumes change and develop for each character as their identities transform throughout the film. In essence designing the costumes was more than just about aesthetics but about giving a larger voice to the underrepresented voices in the film by highlighting nuanced details.
One example of this is seen in Nila’s white dress for the closing scene where she undergoes a rebirth of herself. The white dress in many indigenous cultures represents purity and the divine as well as a form cleansing and healing. Nila wearing the white dress in the closing scene offers a view into her final journey of reclaiming her lost or forgotten identity. There are also many other symbolic elements similar to this example throughout the entirety of the film.
It was an honor working on this project together with so many BIPOC creatives and talents who helped re-imagine Afro Diasporic narratives in Cinema. Additionally, it was beautiful to partake in the film festival Q&A’s where I was able to discuss at length all of the symbols and meanings behind each costume design decision.
You can see more insight into the costume designs here.
INDIGO is published on the Minute Shorts website:
Note: The film shown on the website is a snippet from the whole Short Film. View Here.
