”A Black Fairytale“, w/ Mariama Sow and Kim Sanou, 2025
A Black Fairytale imagines queer black existence in fairytale worlds. In refusal of a linear story, the three directors glitch themselves in and intertwine the fairytale story with their own journey, making their positions and disclosure of desires.
A Black Fairytale comes together as a collective research work, inspired by the black community in Austria and our own connection to fairytale worlds. The idea was driven by the desire to create new images and representations of ourselves, speculating about black and queer bodies in stories, where we felt we didn't belong. It aims to tell an afrofuturist story from a black Austrian/German perspective to challenge our perception of identity and to allow us to dream. By glitching ourselves in a fairytale we search for new connections and imaginations of different futures and pasts that manifest beyond the western understanding of time and space. The film is a myth and a memory of us existing and resisting in different ways throughout time and space.
Festivals
1. Filmfest Dresden International Short Film Festival (Germany, April 2026)
2. Athens Digital Arts Festival (Greece, April 2026)
3. XPOSED Queer Film Festival Berlin (Germany, May 2026)
4. Fringe Qeer Festival London (England, September 2026)
5. Paris WXOOL Festival (France, September 2026)
6. Helsinki International Film Festival (Finland, September 2026)
7. Paris Lesbian Film Festival (France, October 2026)
8. SQUIF Glasgow (Scotland, October 2026)
9. 43. Kasseler Dokumentarfilm- und Videofest (Germany, November 2026)
10. Interfilm Berlin (Germany, November 2026)
11. Asthetica Short Film Festival (England, 2026)
Country: Austria, Germany, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal
Year: 2025
Length: 23min
Collectively written and directed by: Mariama Sow, Isabelle Edi, Kim Sanou
Princess: Jeanne Pascale Andela
Keepers of Knowledge: Henrie Dennis, James Habineza, Iris Omari Ansong
Witch: Kensise Anders
Fairy: Mzamo Nondlwana
Unknown Character: Enesi M.
Narration Voice: Sissi Reich
Camera: Diara Sow
Editing: İpek Hamzaoğlu
Production: Kim Sanou
Costume and Set Design: Mariama Sow, Isabelle Edi
Sound Design: Mbatjiua Hambira
Colour Grading: Deniz Örs
Graphic Design: EYEOFBRC
Hair and Make-up: Céline Mbwisi
Funded by: Shift Vienna, Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien