Belmont World Film’s 21st Family Festival ran January 13 to 21, 2024, bringing films from around the world to young audiences, most of which can’t be seen anywhere else in New England. On the closing day, the festival hosted the New England premiere of TOTEM at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, and our founder Menefese Kudumu-Clavell led the conversation afterward.

Directed by Sander Burger and produced by Volya Films, the film follows Ama, an 11-year-old swimmer in Rotterdam whose Senegalese parents are asylum seekers, and who sees herself as fully Dutch. When her family members are detained, she crosses the city searching for her father, guided by her totem animal, a giant porcupine. It took the Grand Prize for live action feature at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

As a Ghanaian-American filmmaker, Menefese opened by talking about growing up between two cultures. The audience took it from there, with parents and kids sharing what it means to carry a heritage you’ve never fully lived in, and how stories like Ama’s give young people language for it.

Earlier that same morning, we also led the festival’s camera techniques workshop for young filmmakers at Belmont Media Center.

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