Sing her to me

Compilation showreel
2024, Digital film, Dur. 13’21

Sing her to me addresses the impacts of colonialism, migration and patriarchy. Responding to the powerful and tragic story of Rana-Allen’s Great Aunt - the first Indian woman sentenced to be hanged in British colonial Kenya in 1949.

Commissioned by Exeter Phoenix and Phoenix Art Space (Brighton), the film is inspired by detailed records of the case that were unearthed during the artist’s extensive research into a maternal family history - spanning from India in 1914, to 1940s East Africa, and on to contemporary Britain - that illuminated what had previously been only family hearsay and gossip.

Sing her to me brings together found documents, her own recordings recently made on research trips to Kenya and original footage, shot on Super 8, by her uncles of the safaris they led in Kenya and Tanzania. Throughout the film the original story merges with her own reflections as she observes the ongoing impact of intergenerational trauma on her family.

In collaboration with Joseph Allen.

For full film contact artist.