2021 Vancouver Black Independent Film Festival

SAWABONA & Kuma & Shujaa Wutu

Expired January 1, 2022 4:00 AM
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Denzel Onaba is a Vancouver based Black child Actor who comes across as a gentle soul with unmatched confidence on screen and on the monkey bars. Denzel began his acting journey at the age of 8 when he was contacted out of the blue by a casting director for a role in Break Away. His two days on set opened his eyes to this new world and lit a fire in his belly for acting that has only grown stronger since. Denzel, accurately named after Denzel Washington (ironically for his good nature not his acting capabilities) has since been in many commercials, including Walmart Families, numerous student and indie films and is now represented by an amazing agent. When not on set, you can find Denzel playing with his younger sister and also actress Jazlyn, the other children his family fosters, and learning Ukulele from the notable Mark Luongo. As a self directed home schooled child, Denzel enjoys spending his days reading novels, playing video games, biking and playing football, watching ocean documentaries, and he loves everything Harry Potter.


Born and raised in Mali, Hawa Aliou N'Diaye studied business law at the University of Juridical and Political Sciences of Bamako from 2005 to 2010. She completed several internships in courts, law firms, tax offices and in customs and at the University of Letters and Sciences of Bamako (ULSHB). She became a legal assistant in 2014. In 2015, she directed her first short fiction film Les mains d'or de Samba selected at FESPACO in 2017. She has been participating in writing residencies for film projects since 2014 and during this time has trained in cinema at the Gaston-Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal. In 2016, she directed L'absence a short documentary, which won several awards at different festivals. That same year, she participated in the co-production of the feature-length documentary The School of Hostages. Her documentary film, Kuma!, which centers on the issue of incest, was released in March 2019 and which several awards. She is also Director of the "Fêrê Demsenw" festival, a cultural festival for children. She has trained several young people in scriptwriting and is also president of the association Scène des Arts et Culture which innovates Malian culture.


Tom Johns as a young ambitious filmmaker aiming to tell stories that changes people’s life. He started his film making career in 2016 by making short films such as Kitanzi, Cheusi Dawa, Ngalangala and Way Out. This is his debut feature film.

The essence of Sawabona is felt when a child realizes what it truly means to see and be seen. After escaping a bullying experience, one child saves another. Perhaps they saved each other Website

  • Year
    2021
  • Runtime
    4:00
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    Canada
  • Note
    Four homescholed children, who are also actors, decided it was time to put their behind the scenes knowledge to the ultimate test and they joined a 48 hour film making competition. Drawing from each of their strengths they collaborated and created an epic 4 minute film.
  • Director
    Denzel Onaba
  • Screenwriter
    Denzel Onaba Kyrie Schwaiger Zella Schwaiger
  • Producer
    Kyrie Schwaiger
  • Executive Producer
    Lara Onaba
  • Co-Producer
    Zella Schwaiger
  • Cast
    Emma Chittick Azura Cordeiro Nolan Oehr Denzel Onaba Jazlyn Onaba Emilia Pettigrew Marcus Pettigrew Atari Schwaiger (Dog) Erin Schwaiger Gary Schwaiger Kyrie Schwaiger Zella Schwaiger
  • Cinematographer
    Erin Schwaiger
  • Editor
    Erin Schwaiger Lara Onaba
  • Music
    Bensound
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