Film Screening and Q&A with Ngu Asongwed

Film Schedule

Wetlands (dir. Ngu Asongwed, 2019, USA, 2 minutes)
A collaboration between Sqad Nwk and Brujas, an NYC based feminist skate collective.

A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is inundated by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of functions including water purification, water storage, processing of carbon and other nutrients stabilization of shorelines, and support of plants and animals. 

City on Fire (dir. Ngu Asongwed, 2017, USA, 8 minutes)
A Sqad Nwk production. Viewer’s discretion advised (language).

Racism, poverty and police brutality reach a tipping point one hot summer night in Newark N.J. The arrest and beating of African American taxi driver John Smith, sparked five days of rebellion in New Jersey’s largest city. Flames of fear gripped the city as the citizens released their rage on to the streets, forever changing the fate of the troubled metropolis. This film is a story about the ghosts of our past, the fears of our present and the hope for our future. This is not just the story of Newark. This is the story of an America on fire. 

Gourd (dir. Ngu Asongwed, 2019, USA, 6 minutes)
A Sqad Nwk production.

Gourd is a full dome format video installation speaking on the traditions of enslaved Africans in North America, exploring their use of natural resources when escaping slave plantations. From the 1600’s-1800’s, after escaping from plantations these men and women traversed through Americas southern states on foot guided by the stars, specifically The Big Dipper, also known as “The Drinking Gourd”.