Motherland, 2020
Short film
5 min

After witnessing a racist Instagram post Jack,  a mixed race British-Jamaican; spirals down a rabbit hole of inauthentic attempts to reconnect with his roots and a dark desire to satiate his anger by taking revenge via any means necessary.

Written & directed by Thomas Blackman
Produced by Emily Ong
Cinematography by Élison Bartolomeu & Emily Ong 
Edited by Emily Ong 

Country of production, United Kingdom

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Director’s statement -

Motherland is a film about the pain of being disconnected from your ancestral home and how seemingly innocuous events can bring to the surface a deep rooted racialised anger.

Being of mixed Jamaican heritage whilst having spent my whole life in the United Kingdom I have been through many unsuccessful attempts to re-connect with my roots. This struggle, that plays out in the heads of people like me every day, is something that I have never before seen represented on the screen; and in Motherland I explore it through the triggering lens of a racist incident, the kind of which people of colour are subjected to on a daily basis.

​In my film, solace, if not peace, is ultimately achieved through solidarity and kinship within the black community.

Unfortunately Motherland is not currently available to the public. If you would like to watch our film, you can enquire at shuyi.emily@gmail.com.

Thomas Blackman is a 20-year-old South London filmmaker of mixed Jamaican/British heritage. He has worked on several short films as a writer/director and is currently studying at the prestigious Bournemouth Film School. As a BAME writer with a unique perspective, he aspires to become a voice for under-represented people in the UK film industry.

Poster & portraits by Emily Ong