​Aimiende Negbenebor Sela

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As a writer and a filmmaker, I am drawn to the inner conflicts that influence our actions as human beings. I observe people make decisions and watch their faces betray their uncertainties. I see good people do awful things; watch as victims decide to stop being victims, and I’m blown away by the inner strength that comes pouring out of them. In each case, I’ve wondered what it took to get them there.

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I volunteered at a shelter in New York City many years ago, now (before my move to Los Angeles), and the people I met (from those who have always had nothing, to people who lost everything) filled me with such appreciation for the human spirit. This, of course, is in addition to my experience growing up in a developing country. In light of more recent world events, I find myself thinking about those nights at the shelter and reaffirming my goal to bring a little bit of the hope I saw in the residents’ eyes to my work.

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I do not see myself, however, as a crusader for a cause or social justice. I see myself as a filmmaker “with an eye for humanism,” quoting a fellow filmmaker's observation of my work. There is nothing pretty about hurt, but the hope that shines through in spite of it is simply brilliant. That is what I aim to share in my work – hope. I draw visual inspiration from all that’s around me and from the filmmakers whose work I admire.

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My goal as a writer-director is to, hopefully soon, join the list of writers and directors whose work I love, and to somehow give a voice to those (like me once upon a time) who feel voiceless; to play my own small part in bringing up the number of working women filmmakers in the industry, and share a bit of how I see the world in the process.