Feature Film: One Night in Brooklyn

Actress, Writer, “Directress” Esosa Edosomwan will be directing her first feature film titled “One Night in Brooklyn.” Esosa, who is a first generation Nigerian born in the United States, was recently named a “Young African Visionary” by Obaasema Magazine and included in Applause Africa’s list of “30 Most Intriguing Africans in NY”

“One Night in Brooklyn.” is about a group of Brooklyn bohemians whose bonds of friendship and love are put to the test when they decide to throw a TransAfrican independence day party. The multi-cultural cast will bring to life characters of Nigerian, Ethiopian, Haitian, Afro-Latino, and African American backgrounds.

At the core of “One Night in Brooklyn” is the idea of the TransAfrican community. I define the TransAfrican community as a group of people within the African Diaspora…who are not afraid to honor where they come from and let this inform how they express themselves where they are today. Esosa realized how many others of varying multi-cultural backgrounds shared similar experiences. This film is for the generation worldwide that is looking to consume content that reflects their experiences as TransAfricans living abroad.

“One Night in Brooklyn” launched a fundraising campaign online through Indiegogo.com on February 15, 2012 and has the goal of beginning production in July 2012. Esosa, who studied Directing, Producing, and Marketing Management at Columbia University and Textiles & Apparel Design at Cornell University has written and directed several short films including: “Simple As Blk & White,” and “50 Bucks in Argentina,” .

AfroElle got a chance to ask the filmmaker a couple of questions about the film ‘One Night in Brooklyn’

How has the process of putting together One Night In Brooklyn been to you as a woman of African Descent, any moments of self discovery?

The process of putting together this film has indeed been a journey that has sparked self-discovery. When you commit to making a film, you have to have the passion and determination to continue pushing the project through ups and downs. It’s like a long-term relationship! I initially thought we would shoot this much sooner. The first draft was written in 2008.

Above all, committing to make this movie has taught me extreme patience and reliance on divine timing. We still have along way to go as we must raise $150,000 dollars to make this film a reality and shoot it in July 2012, but I have faith that the money will come, because finally all of the right crew and cast are on board and everything is falling into place. As a woman of African descent, I’m just excited to make a feature film. There are not enough women making movies, especially black women, and also I realized a couple years ago that there aren’t any women of African descent doing what I want to do which is act and direct. There are countless men who have made names for themselves directing and acting in their movies, but I can’t think of one black woman.

What were you looking for in the cast?

Authenticity and raw talent. I wanted actors that were talented and really connected to the lives of their characters, and we got just that. Every single actor has a very strong personal connection to their character and I believe that this is going to be evident on screen. When I came up with the idea for One Night in Brooklyn, I knew I wanted a relatively unknown cast with tremendous talent. I hope that this film becomes a platform for the principal cast, because this truly is an ensemble film that gives all of us a chance to show off our talent. Nowadays people are taking less and less chances on unknown talent but I still believe that even with unknown actors, if the talent is there and the story is there, people will enjoy the film and tell others about it.

What do you think will be the most exciting thing about shooting this film?

The most exciting thing about shooting this film is seeing a vision that I have labored so hard and so for long come to reality. Shooting this film will be the biggest accomplishment of my life thus far, seriously. I cannot wait to shoot it and to work with my incredible cast and crew to make the best film we can with the resources we have.

What overall message do you want the film to communicate?

Hopefully there isn’t one set thing that people take away from the film after it’s complete. But my intention when writing the script was to create a diverse group of characters that are very culturally specific, and also to explore growing into adulthood and show a group of young men and women who are forced on this one night to examine themselves and really make new decisions that make them more responsible human beings. I also hope that the film will inspire people to embrace and express their cultural roots. If all above fails, at the very least I hope they laugh!

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