I am Not Your Dusky Maiden
When a young Samoan woman enters therapy she must navigate a series of alter egos protecting her from painful childhood memories.
- Filmmaker(s)
- Karin Williams
- Vea Mafileʻo
- Nora Aati
- Patrick Thomsen
- Jazz Dos Santos
- Category
- Short Film
- Subject Matter
- Family, Culture, Mental Health
I AM NOT YOUR DUSKY MAIDEN is a short drama following a Samoan woman through a therapy session as she confronts her childhood trauma.
Ala, 30s, suffers from dissociative identity disorder, causing her to switch between alter ego states as she navigates her way through the healing process. The session is challenging but Ala is determined to push through as she transforms and switches between characters.
Four year-old Flo calms and nurtures Ala as she faces her painful past. Eva is Ala’s free spirit, a sassy and flirtatious Samoan woman in her twenties.
As the pressure mounts Saia arrives, an aggressive man who challenges and intimidates her therapist, Liam. Then out of the chaos appears Puipui, a fierce ancestor and Ala’s spiritual protector. The tables turn as we discover that Ala is the therapist. Liam has disappeared and we are in her office. She has overcome her past...or has she?
I AM NOT YOUR DUSKY MAIDEN is a recipient of Production funding from PIC's Shorts Fund.
Nora Aati - Author and "Ala"
Vea Mafile’o - Director
Karin Williams
Patrick Thomsen - Producer
Jazz Dos Santos - Producer