WRITTEN, PRODUCED & Directed by Christie Fewry
A girl tries her best to master love through her artistic expression of cooking. She learns as quickly as she keeps making mistakes. For her, making the perfect dish and finding love is an act of service to herself that she is relentless on achieving. This micro-short film is based on West African, Sierra Leone/British women who love to cook.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Aminia had it’s UK Premiere at the Manchester Film Festival and it’s London Premiere at the New Renaissance Film Festival where it also received an Honourable Mention for Best Short Short. It won the Black Power Award at the Reale Film Festival and it was nominated for the Best Micro Short Award at the Wolverhampton Film Festival. Other festival highlights include Women Of The Lens Film Festival, Spark Micro-Short Film Festival, FILMSshort Online Film Festival, Atlanta Micro Short Film 2024, and the Austin Micro Film Festival.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Christie Fewry is a natural storyteller, actor and filmmaker, who recently graduated from Rose Bruford College in BA Acting. She produced her debut award-winning short film, Amina, which had its UK premiere at the BAFTA and BIFA qualifying Manchester Film Festival, then received an Honourable Mention at the New Renaissance Film Festival. Amina earned a total of nine festival selections worldwide. Christie made her stage debut in the world premiere of The Great Privation: How To Flip Ten Cents Into a Dollar at Theatre503. Beyond acting and filmmaking, Christie delves into her spiritual experiences through her writing, with her poems published in Breadfruit magazine’s Black British Writers Feature Project.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIE
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I’m Christie Fewry, a London-based actor and emerging filmmaker of Sierra Leonean heritage. I made my debut as a writer-director with Amina, a micro-short that explores love, identity and heritage through the act of cooking. My background is in performance, I graduated from Rose Bruford College with a First Class in BA Acting but storytelling has always been at the heart of my creative journey.
As a filmmaker, I'm fascinated with the stories of the women around me, and I’m always drawn to intimate, character-driven stories centring African and Black-British women and girls. Amina was made with heart and community, and it’s been incredibly affirming to see it resonate on the festival circuit, especially making its UK Premiere at Manchester Film Festival. I screened my second short film, Made of A Million, in 2025 and am now developing my third short. I’m excited to continue building stories that feel both grounded and bold.
Tell us about the genesis of Amina. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
Growing up, I observed women in my family commit to one specific stereotypical gender role, which was to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and this bothered me. Rebelliously, I observed their behaviour from a place of judgment. However, as I investigated the reasoning behind why they cooked so much, I found it was their love language. A way of presenting and expressing their artistry as a gift to the family and with every dish they strived for excellence. This inspired me to write Amina and explore the parallels of a young woman cooking the perfect dish and finding love. Her relentlessness causes her to move on quickly from mistakes in order to create what she knows she deserves, whether it is through cooking or a new relationship.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Amina and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest obstacles I faced making Amina was working with limited resources while being far from home. It was a self-funded, micro-budget project costing 900 GBP, and I was making it in Los Angeles without an established network. Every decision from locations to the size of the crew had to be incredibly intentional. On top of that, finding the right collaborators in an unfamiliar city felt daunting.
That changed when I attended a screening and saw a short film that really moved me. I reached out to the DP, Isaak Kimmel, and to my surprise and gratitude, he connected with Amina and came on board. That moment reminded me of the power of sharing your vision and not being afraid to ask, even as a new filmmaker. In the end, what felt like limitations became a source of strength. They pushed me to focus on the emotional core of the story and lean into creativity, collaboration, and belief in the work and in myself.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights and/or online release.
Getting Amina to audiences has been such a rewarding journey. The film screened at Manchester Film Festival as a UK Premiere, was nominated for Best Micro Short at Wolverhampton Film Festival, and received an Honourable Mention for Best Short Short at the New Renaissance Film Festival, each moment felt like a meaningful nod to the story and the work behind it. One of the most special highlights was screening at the National Youth Theatre, where the film was watched by a room full of young, aspiring creatives, the kind of audience I deeply hope Amina connects with. Now that the festival circuit has wrapped, I’m excited for it to live online through Kino Short of The Week and continue reaching new viewers.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
My biggest piece of advice is, start with what you have. Amina began as a poem, and I had a very clear moving image in my head that I couldn’t ignore. I didn’t wait for the “perfect” conditions, I used what I had, trusted the story, and let that lead the way. Also, don’t be afraid to submit to festivals, even the ones that feel “too big.” I almost didn’t apply to Manchester Film Festival because I thought it was out of my league, but it ended up being one of the most affirming experiences of the journey. Take the risk. Let your film travel further than your doubt allows.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
The Photograph (2020), Soul (2020), Molly's Game (2017), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and The Woman King (2022).
What are you working on next?
Next, I'm working on a new short called Pageant Sweet, that's sits in the sports drama genre. The Premise is a competitive and desperate young woman wants to win a beauty pageant, to pay back a loan shark but her biggest competitor is winning. Using her beauty, she turns to the pageant sponsors for help. When that fails, she goes to extreme lengths to win.
