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Filmmaker Mo Asumang
http://www.roots-germania.com |
Filmmaker to discover Afro-German roots
Writted by: Abby Liebenthal |
IDS
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“It all started with a public threat on my life.”
Within the first few minutes of Mo Asumang’s documentary “Roots
Germania,” students, faculty and Bloomington residents became
part of a search for the director’s identity.
The documentary was presented Friday in Morrison Hall and was
followed by a question-and-answer session.
“You don’t hear about German and African relations very often,
so I thought it would be something different,” graduate student
Sarah Keil said.
Asumang said the journey to find her identity was driven by a
desire to understand where racism toward Afro-Germans
originated.
“It’s like a job to search for identity,” Asumang said. “It
starts when you’re born in Germany – it’s not so easy to be part
of that country.”
The film was triggered by a song, written by a Neo-Nazi band the
“White Aryan Rebels,” that calls for Asumang’s murder. Lyrics in
the song include “This bullet is for you, Mo Asumang.”
Asumang wanted to create a film about racism in Germany and
finding her heritage after hearing the song. Throughout the film
Asumang illustrated the struggles of having biracial parents in
scenes with right-winged Neo-Nazis and Ghanaians.
“I didn’t know who I was,” Asumang said. “I tried to be white
when I was younger, so years later I tried to be black.”
Asumang said the movie proves individuals do not consider people
of a different race to be German.
While filming, Asumang did not tell Neo-Nazis she was an
Afro-German when she called to speak with them – surprising them
at their meeting.
Asumang also used the movie as an opportunity to get to know her
father and learn more about her mother’s experience with racism.
When Asumang visited Ghana, her father said she did not have to
decide exactly who she is and he would always accept her as
Ghanaian. Her mother also expressed ideas of acceptance and said
that she was forced to move and put Asumang up for adoption
because her daughter was Afro-German.
“I can be both, and it’s super,” Asumang said. “I can be on one
side a German and on the other a Ghanaian.”
One similarity between her identities, Asumang noted in the
film, was spirituality and rituals performed in forests.
Janice Levi, a graduate student, said she took note of the
spiritual connection between these two cultures.
“It was interesting how she related it far back to Pagan culture
in Europe and experiencing rituals in the forest to both areas,”
Levi said.
Asumang ended her film saying that for every Neo-Nazi
convention, there are at least three challenging it.
“Some people will never change, but you can change your own
life,” she said.
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