Shamira Raphaëla (born 1982), is an

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

n– Dutch filmmaker. She is best known as the director of documentaries ''Daddy and the Warlord'', ''Deal With It'' and ''Our Motherland''.

Personal life

She was born in 1982 in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and grew up in Aruba to a Dutch mother and a

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

father.

Career

After voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs (VWO), she moved to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and studied fine arts at the

Gerrit Rietveld Academie The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The academy was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History In 1924, the I ...

. Later she obtained a degree in media art from the

ArtEZ University of Arts ArtEZ University of Arts ( nl, ArtEZ hogeschool voor de kunsten) is an art academy in Netherlands. ArtEZ combines several art institutes and art disciplines with branches in Arnhem, Enschede, and Zwolle. In its name the A stands for Arnhem, the E f ...

. Initially, she started to work as an independent director where she directed several television programs: ''Expeditie Robinson'' and ''Spuiten en Slikken''. In 2006, Raphaela produced and directed her maiden short film ''With Salt In My Eyes''. The short deals about three young Aruban women. After the success of several shorts, she made her first feature documentary ''Deal With It''. The film received critical acclaim and later awarded at the Los Angeles Urban Film Festival, the Belize International Film Festival and the Aruba International Film Festival. The film revolves around the story of two drug dealers and addicts: father Pempy and brother Andy, actually her family members. The film was nominated for best Debut at the Netherlands Film Festival (NFF) 2015. In 2017, the film was awarded with the Lenno and the Sunfish the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...

(IDFA) prize for the Best Youth Documentary. In 2017, she wrote the film ''Downfall of a Superwoman'' where she won the Karen de Bok Talent Award during IDFA, 2018. In the same year, she made ''Lenno and the Angelfish''. The film received critical acclaim and won the Award for Best European Children's Documentary during the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019 and then received the Award for Best Children's Documentary at IDFA, 2018. In 2018, she made the biographical documentary ''Daddy and the Warlord'' which revolves around the story of journalist Clarice Gargard's father, who had been the right-hand man of Charles Taylor, the ex-president of

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The film had its premiere at the Movies that Matter film festival in 2019. Later, the film won a

Golden Calf for Best Short Documentary The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best Short Documentary at the Nederlands Film Festival. This category was first awarded in 1993. * 2023 Wiam Al-Zabari - Mijn Vader, Nour en Ik * 2022 Eliane Esther Bots - In Flow of Words ...

at the Dutch Film Festival 2019. In December 2019, she made the documentary ''Ons Motherland''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
2Doc: Ons moederland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphaela, Shamira Living people 1982 births Gerrit Rietveld Academie alumni Aruban people of Curaçao descent Dutch film directors Dutch television directors