In this film, Ayana O'Shun investigates the phenomenon of absent fathers in black communities, through her personal stor | dG1fMjM5TVlORlZLVUE
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Papa!
00:03In fact, the oldest memory I have of my father
00:06is not only that I was afraid of him,
00:08but also that I felt like he was not there.
00:09The predominant feeling in my relationship with him
00:12is really disgust.
00:13I'm envious of this feeling of abandonment
00:15that I felt all those years.
00:17What often shocks me is that
00:19when we say that a black father is absent for us,
00:22it's normal.
00:23I had long hesitated to make this film
00:25because I thought that it could strengthen
00:26the stereotypes associated with black men.
00:28But we have to talk about it.
00:29to break the taboos and move forward.
00:32When fathers are absent,
00:33when they abandon their responsibilities to their children,
00:36we know the damage that that does to our families.
00:39For me, raising a child is bringing it up.
00:42I had to create my own scale.
00:46It's a genealogical weapon.
00:48I am the first generation
00:50who didn't grow up with their father.
00:53Everything was done to destroy the concept of family.
00:56Four centuries of that, and you want a stable society
01:00of present-day fathers, Western-style.
01:04But it's as if what you were telling me
01:06couldn't think of the wounds of the girl I am.
01:13What do I do with that?
01:15This film is my card of the Father's Day for you.
01:18I want to try to transform the wounds I have experienced.
01:22It must be that forgiveness.