Africa is Home

Africa is Home is a short film that envisions Africa as a united continent where people of all races can live together in peace and love. The filmmakers wished to convey a compelling narrative that sparks conversation regarding how many people of different races consider Africa their only home, even if their ancestors came from elsewhere in the world. Even with the film's restricted runtime, director Wiclive Mazo warrants enough social commentary to justify deeper discussions after the credits roll.

The musical score and use of needle drops serve as one of the most intriguing aspects of the film, presenting one of its biggest strengths whilst proving detrimental at times. While the score accompanies the opening credits incredibly well with its pulse-pounding and majestic themes, it can be oddly overbearing in dialogue-heavy scenes and feels out of place during discussions of race. It is, however, consistently creative and definitely one of the most memorable aspects formally. The piece almost feels like a music video at times, with the amount of music present and how it jarringly shifts tonally into another piece of licensed music. Wiclive Mazo’s direction is competent enough; however, the use of blocking often feels awkward and unnatural, and camerawork relies heavily on fixed shots, rarely doing anything memorable. That being said, the drone photography and the sprawling shots of Africa outside of the central characters’ dialogue are admittedly impressive to witness.

The opening credits, accompanied by beautiful photography and powerful conversations about generational hatred, are provocative and visually arresting. The tone of the piece feels entirely uplifting, with its heart clearly in the right place about educating others on race and accepting our differences. It brings up intriguing discussions regarding acceptance in your community and acknowledging the pitfalls of the past, and what we can do to make a change to the way others are unable to love one another. Unfortunately, due to the limited runtime and lack of a wide range of perspectives, the piece is sadly restrained in what it actually has to say, and an extended runtime could have fleshed out and deepened discussions to allow more discourse to be had beyond the film. This is mainly due to the piece primarily focusing on only three individuals. While the dialogue is engaging and thought-provoking, the conversations at times feel stilted due to how unnatural their line delivery is, and it takes you out of the raw experience.

The piece employs a powerful social commentary focused on community and the importance of empowerment, envisioning Africa as a place where people's voices are amplified worldwide. It conveys themes of love and peace, with a narrative centred on Africa’s determination to foster these. It may abruptly conclude and offer minor perspectives due to the lack of people present in the discussions; however, the piece still manages to employ enough intriguing points to the audience.

Africa is Home is a thought-provoking piece of filmmaking with an uplifting social commentary that depicts Africa as a loving and hopeful place to unite black communities, and educate others on topics such as race, community and history. It may suffer from being unable to offer a wide variety of perspectives due to its sparse runtime; however, this still manages to connect on a deeper level due to how much material is covered within the minimal duration.