Raw Life

Sometime in early September, Akanke and Nadirah surprised me at a casual gathering by interviewing me on camera about my recently deceased Hoo Hoo (my maternal grandmother) and the documentary I’m supposed to be working on about her. Tears rolled as I spoke of wanting to preserve Hoo Hoo’s memory but wanting to choose the easier path of moving on. How cold -- and how old I am getting to accept the passing of loved ones as part of life.

After the impromptu interview, we talked about the thrill of capturing unexpected tensions on videotape. How beautiful it is to capture the moment of awkwardness when more is revealed then intended: the untapped emotion, the social gaffe, the secret desire, the cracking of the voice.

I hollered out, “That’s it! That’s the beauty of art -- to catch the rawness of life!”