At Reckon, Jonece Starr Dunigan has an interview with 17-year-old Kenyan-American actor and filmmaker Anah Ambuchi, whose new short, “Don’t Tell Me Ur Sorry,” tells the story of two Black teenagers navigating mental health stressors and striving to be heard:
“At just 17 years old, Anah Ambuchi is shaping people’s perspectives on how to better care for Black youth one short film at a time. . . .
By age 11, Ambuchi was pulling from her own experiences when she wrote, produced and directed ‘In His Image,’ a short film detailing the dangers of bullying. The movie was shown at 14 film festivals nationwide and won four awards, including the Rising Star Award at Diversity in Cannes, an initiative pushing for racial inclusion at the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival in France.
While earning those accolades, Ambuchi didn’t waste any time. She was also writing, producing and acting in her latest project, “Don’t Tell Me Ur Sorry.” The 20-minute film explores the mental health of two Black teens navigating racial issues and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. The emotional wellbeing for Black teens has reached epidemic levels. . . .
‘We’ve seen those statistics about suicide. We’ve seen the effects of bullying and how mental health can really be a damper on someone’s [well-]being,’ Ambuchi said. ‘I feel like seeing these types of films can engage the mind and create positive messages. Whereas when we’re just constantly consuming our minds with things that have no meaning, then we’re not trying to better ourselves as a society.’ . . .
Mental health advocates have been sounding the alarm on the suicide rate among Black youth, which is increasing faster than any other race and ethnic group in the country. From 2007 to 2020, the rate rose 144 percent for Black teens between the ages of 10 to 17. Bullying can leave emotional scars that can lead to depression and anxiety. According to the Civil Rights Data Collection, Black and Brown students are more likely to experience bullying in schools – a reality that nearly traumatized Ambuchi when she was in third and fourth grade.”
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