‘In the sublime, can you hear my heart cry?’
Writer, photographer and filmmaker, Ajay Abalaka chronicles life in a utopia in The Sublime which she views as a continuation of the first stanza of Maya Angelou’s Alone.
What was once a prose piece written in a journal, The Sublime blossomed into the Abalaka’s first film. What’s interesting is the name which suggests a sense of grandeur, and it aligns with the power behind human emotion.
The narrator recites poetry to represent the mind of the character striking a verbal contrast with the visual environment. There’s an attempt to make sense of the world around her.
Despite being her first film, Abalaka does a good job. Bringing her writing to life through her use of colour, sharp images and accompanying sounds.
Below is Angelou’s Alone followed by Abalaka’s The Sublime.
Lying, thinking Last night How to find my soul a home Where water is not thirsty And bread loaf is not stone I came up with one thing And I don’t believe I’m wrong That nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone. Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone. There are some millionaires With money they can’t use Their wives run round like banshees Their children sing the blues They’ve got expensive doctors To cure their hearts of stone. But nobody No, nobody Can make it out here alone. Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone. Now if you listen closely I’ll tell you what I know Storm clouds are gathering The wind is gonna blow The race of man is suffering And I can hear the moan, ‘Cause nobody, But nobody Can make it out here alone. Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone.