Jamila Hardy’s touching moving image piece Hybrid examines what it means to be a third culture kid. Made as her final project at the London College of Fashion, the fashion photography graduate looked inward to address the fact that she doesn’t feel fully accepted in the UK where she was born, nor in Uganda or Sierra Leone where her parents come from.

The film mixes family footage with split screen scenes of herself wearing clothing and textiles that express the tapestry of her heritage as a Buganda, a Fulani and a Londoner. We also hear Hardy’s inner musings on identity spoken by her mother in her native tongue, Luganda.

“Hybrid is a self-exploration film looking at themes of insecurity and belonging,” Hardy tells us. “It’s this idea of not feeling like you come from your mother or father’s country because you’re born in the West and not feeling that the UK is home because of the systematic and covert racism here. After a reflective evening, I began to write and the dialogue was born. Creating Hybrid during the Covid-19 lockdown also made me go deeper as an artist and challenge myself but I’m really proud with how it turned out.”

While originally stemming from a sense of disquiet, making this short film has allowed Hardy to not only accept but embrace a sense of calm as she continues along her personal journey. As the film states: “I’m an entity that’s fluid, one that moves with grace through the corners of the Earth… One rich with culture… I’m happy to be loose… Not belonging can be my comfort.”

Direction, words and editing Jamila Hardy
Music Luke Williams
Narration Marie Hardy

Published on 27/10/2020