Leila S. Gbelia

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Film is an expansion of the human mind, a natural yearning to create. Film is what validated the younger version of myself that would dive into a few pages of their favorite book, close their eyes and shape the scene in their imagination. Film is the potential I saw in myself that no one else saw I’ve learned to stand firm on my ideas and how to express myself as a black queer woman with a yearning to fight for representation through film. Being counted out has helped me learn to count on myself and believe in my ideas. 

 I’m passionate about film, especially cinematography, because I get to piece together images in order to tell the story. I hold the responsibility of how the puzzle pieces are laid that create the final image. More importantly, I understand the power of context and the gravity of the power and responsibility that a filmmaker must consider, because of its impact on representation.

All of my life I’ve been searching for that one thing that excites me, and just clicks for me. That one thing is Film. I aspire to be a Cinematographer, shaping what the audience sees through camera, light, and composition. I love being responsible for what others see, through the lens I bring to the table, through my life experiences and how I see the world. Cinematography means bringing film to life, building a world audiences can get lost in.

My creative ambition is to build a cinema house dedicated to independent Black and queer filmmakers, while also expanding opportunities for other marginalized and underrepresented storytellers whose work is too often excluded from mainstream platforms. I want to affirm the complexity of our communities and preserve our narratives with the same care given to widely recognized cinema.

“Can’t” no longer defines me. I can create, contribute, and lead. I do this not just for myself, but for those who will come after me — for the communities whose voices deserve space on screen.

 

 

'From birth we learn to imitate. Imitation is taking information outside of ourselves and making that into experience. We use imitation for communication, we use that art of imitation for connection, and we innately use imitation for creation. Existence has always been a point of thought, and debate of purpose​. Whether it’s an artistic mark of existence or hope that the hidden works of arts impressed in our being, such as the emotions we feel, and the many thoughts and images buried in our memories, dreams, and imagination, can be experienced by others, or perhaps something we can view outside of ourselves, even if no one ever sees what we produce. 

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'Let light be light, paint the screen with poetry'