Educational Media Reviews Online

In Brief Tender Light, a feature-length documentary, filmmaker and Ghanaian native Arthur Musah returns to his alma mater, MIT, to capture the experiences of new students arriving from various countries in Africa. Throughout their first year, the students share what it’s like acclimating to the United States and the culture at one of the country’s most academically challenging universities. Hailing from Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, the students start MIT excited and hopeful that following graduation, they will make an impact when they return to their respective countries. As they spend more time in the US, the psychological distance between each of them and their families and cultures grow. Some students briefly visit home and become unsettled by how much they’ve evolved as individuals and by how challenging implementing lasting change can be.

Halfway through, the film shifts and zeros in on how personally transformational their experience has been. In some ways, the film is an offering and perhaps an apology from Musah to his home country about why he has stayed in the U.S. Several students grapple with similar feelings of guilt. Studying abroad deeply influences the students’ sense of self and their connection to their home countries. Some of their long held cultural beliefs are challenged and several begin to question if they’ll return home after graduation.

Brief Tender Light is a thoughtful exploration of culture shock, intersectionality, and transitioning into adulthood with a special focus on the experiences of African international students studying in the United States. Other themes explored in the film include the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration, and LGBTQIA+ rights. The film is ideal for high school students, new college students, teachers, and college/university faculty and staff.

Awards:
Best First Time Filmmaker Jury Award, Newburyport Documentary Film Festival 2023; Jury Prize, Best Documentary Feature and Audience Award, Best Feature Film, 2023 Urbanworld Film Festival; Best Documentary Feature, Tacoma Film Festival 2023; Youth Vision Award, United Nations Association Film Festival 2023; Audience Choice/Best of Fest Award, Rockport Film Festival 2023; Audience Award for Best Documentary, East Lansing Film Festival 2023

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