Jua Film Review

Star rating: 5/5

Writer: Abdallah Ebbo

Director: Abdalla Ebbo

Starring: Aidalyne

Jua is a bright piece of filmic poetry.

Created by Abdallah Ebbo, Jua is an extremely short film which in its 2-minute duration warms up your day. Even from its title, which means Sun in Swahili (the ancient African language of some communities in what is today Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique), this audiovisual poem is an expression of strength and radiance.

A compliment by a stranger can really change one’s day, but it can also make you realise if you’re dependent on external validation. Jua expresses the importance of self-worth, and the core of validation coming from oneself. This is a beautiful outlook on life, one which I would find deeply interesting to temper with the follow up question on how far can self-worth go in today’s world where broken communication and fractured relationships are increasingly the norm, where more and more people struggle to nurture relationships which are, whatever our individual state, what help us, as humans, make sense of ourselves and the world.

Visually, Jua manages to express the warmth which it is about in black and white. The creative decision to film in black and white on a sunny day in an inner London high street is sumptuous, inspired. This dream-like texture is further enriched by the brilliant score, which sits somewhere between the soul and electronic genres. The performance by Aidalyne paints a brilliant picture where strength and vulnerability can be seen as two sides of the same coin.

Jua is a fascinating concept to watch while in the crossroads of a society that increasingly prices the individual and talks about self-worth while battling the social and communal that inevitably plays a role in maintaining that very self-worth we speak about. Artistry like this is exactly what we need in our spiritual and even political mission to return to a balance that works for us both as free individuals and a society.