Who? Rebekah A. Frimpong
Where? Brooklyn NY and Philadelphia (I travel between both cities)
What do you do? I am a filmmaker, poet, activist, and mentor. I use my art to to help bring about social change and challenge people to make a difference or inspire youth. I make documentaries and I have a non-profit I run with my best friend called RWUL where we use film as an outreach tool in the community. We put on film festivals, host film screenings for independent filmmakers, and teach kids about filmmaking and social issues including cross-cultural awareness that filmmaking can help bring discussion around.
I also have a program I run for mothers in Africa and the US to help mothers in need get things they need before or after their pregnancies. This program is called the MaMa Africa Program and I am currently writing a script for a film about our program. In my spare time I mentor youth in Brooklyn NY and in Uganda, East Africa. Currently, I am working on releasing my first book of poetry My Relation to the Sun, due to be release in October 2011.
What inspires you? The young people I work with inspire me the most. Their energy and willingness learn gives me hope. My late beloved mother was also an inspiration for me because she taught me to dream big and to believe in myself.
Why are you fly? I think I am fly because I am intelligent. Even though I am a filmmaker I received a degree in Psychology and Biolology Pre-med life science concentration for Virginia Commonwealth University. I love science as well as art and I think that makes me fly.
Advice: I would tell other women out there to never give up and keep re-inventing a new you. Try to aim for happiness because that will ultimately help you help others.
Check out my blogs and websites:
www.myrelationtothesun.blogspot.com
www.youngafricanvisionaries.blogspot.com
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