Award-Winning Filmmaker Tari Wariebi ’10

Reception, 6 p.m. (Shaffer galleria)
Screening and discussion, 7 p.m. (Room 121 Shaffer)

The Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies (CRS) welcomes CRS alumnus and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Tari Wariebi ’10. Wariebi discovered his passion for filmmaking as an undergraduate and McNair Scholar in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The alumni spotlight event will feature a viewing of Wariebi’s latest project We Were Meant To, which screened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The 27-minute short, directed and co-written by Wariebi, follows young Akil as he comes of age in a world where Black men have wings and undertake their first flight as a rite of passage.

Wariebi will be in conversation with Dr. Chaz Barracks, filmmaker and postdoctoral fellow in CRS, for a discussion about the power of film to express Black fugitivity and to explore why stories of empowerment are vital in the shadow of systematic oppression.

Both filmmakers use science fiction and speculation to share nuanced stories that represent everyday Black life. They will address the importance of film as a medium, how their films circulate among different audiences, and how studying communication enhances filmmaking skills.