DAMIEN HAUSER
BIO
Hauser is a Filmmaker based in Switzerland. Born in Zurich in 2001, he began producing short films by the age of seven. He later studied film at SAE from 2016 to 2020 and worked for a commercial production company called FILME VON DRAUSSEN from 2018 to 2020. In order to practice his craft, he created several short films with the help of friends and took on various projects such as music videos, plays and commercials. However his greatest passion has always been fictional storytelling. He is currently focusing on directing and scriptwriting. After the Long Rains makes its Spanish premiere in AFRIKALDIA.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
In 2020, I was in Kenya for five months shooting my first feature film BLIND LOVE and getting to know my family. What stood out to me was the conflict of worldviews between younger and older generations. The younger generation has access to Western culture through social media, while the older people grew up in a Kenya where kenyan culture and old traditions were much more relevant. BAADA YA MASIKA centers on this conflict and with Aisha’s dream of becoming a fisher, the story unfolds itself and multiple perspectives clash.
Although my father is from Switzerland and my mother from Kenya, I grew up in Switzerland and therefore automatically bring a very western perspective to this film. However, my goal in the film was not to condemn, but to allow as many perspectives as possible to have a voice. So that the film can be seen by Western and African audiences. Because the core of the film is about achieving one’s dreams and that is a theme that everyone can identify with.