Fieldtrip to Alchemy in Hawick

Today we went to see this in Hawick. Onyeka is a PhD student who had created three short films from archive material of the 1929 women's uprising in Nigeria which was a response to colonials asking women to pay taxes. The uprising was apparently very violent however that was not reflected in the films. She did say she didn't manage to find much material of the actual uprising however I feel that she could have demonstrated the violence more effectively e.g. by more aggressive music. In fact, from watching the films I couldn't work out the story she was trying to tell and I needed the question and answer session to get it clearer in my head. She also did not answer the questions I wanted answering e.g. what happened as a result of the uprising? I was interested in the history and I felt she was lacking in her presentation of this. However that is with my social history head on and is was an art outing! What I saw held my attention, archive footage has always interested me, I love the medium of dance and the accompanying soundtrack was just right. It was largely black and white however one of the modern dancers was in colour which I may have done differently as I felt it looked out of place. 
Overall an inspiring set of films, but perhaps inspiring in a way the filmmaker wouldn't want - while I enjoyed them, I felt that I was identifying more of the shortcomings, rather than praising the positives.
I apologise if a proper film critic thinks they are great!

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