‘The Multi’ Writer, Producer and Star Natasha Ofili: ‘Being Deaf Shows Me the World From a Different Place’

Natasha Ofili wrote, produced, and stars in her debut 19-minute short film “The Multi,” a selection in the Unstoppable Shorts section of the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival. The film’s plot is based on Ofili’s own experience as a Black Deaf woman healing from trauma.

Directed by Storm Smith and Mikail Chowdhury, “The Multi” follows Amara (Ofili), a Black Deaf woman who, as the Slamdance description explains, “buries the pain of childhood abuse by her father. Her avoidance has created a protective persona, Sade (Ofili) — a free-spirited being who takes over when things become too much. Isolated and faced with the prospect of seeing her father again, Sade resurfaces to taste the freedom of living. As Sade tears down her carefully constructed world, Amara has to confront her alter-ego and the trauma she has hidden.”

Ofili shot the short film during the pandemic using a majority Deaf and hard-of-hearing crew. She produced “The Multi” via her production company, NIOVISION.

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She believes her upbringing as a Deaf child — and that her intersectional identity as a Black Deaf woman — has given her a unique perspective as a filmmaker. She also hopes to develop “The Multi” into a feature film.

“No one asks my story, so I express my story through my art,” she said. “As a deaf little girl, I was quite an observer. I watched so many people with how they talked to each other, walked, expressed themselves, and how they channeled those feelings,” Ofili told MovieMaker. “Being deaf shows me the world from a different place. I always knew that I was different, an outsider, and odd, but I love being different. It gave me a different purpose to offer to the world as Natasha Ofili, a Black Deaf Woman.”

Ofili says she hopes “The Multi” will remind people to “have empathy and compassion towards yourself and others,” and that it will raise awareness about mental health.

“Black women in this world are not being seen as human beings. Our feelings are often dismissed and neglected. We always have to be strong for others to not fall. We are always striving against the tide of minimalizing, being taken advantage of, and doing more and more and more. We are proud of who we are – it just gets tiring,” she said.

“I take pride in talking about my depression. Soon, I realized that people, especially Black Deaf Women do not talk about their trauma, depression, or mental health issues in society. Society puts such stigma around talking about depression,” she said. “I became vulnerable during years of therapy, and it is a strength. When I became an actress, the vulnerability was a way for me to be free to express my being through the characters. It is truly empowering to be vulnerable. I want everyone to experience that by shattering their wall of pain, trauma, angst, and more. It is scary, but believe me, the burden becomes weightless with vulnerability.”

Main Image: Natasha Ofili in “The Multi.”