African-born students shine as agents of change in documentary 'Brief Tender Light' (2023)
Philip Abel Adama in cap and gown on the MIT campus in a scene from Brief Tender Light (2023).
Brief Tender Light (2023), a documentary by Ukrainian-born Ghanaian filmmaker Arthur Musah '04, MNG '05 (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science), tells the story of four African MIT undergraduates on their journeys to becoming engineers: Sante Nyambo '15 (Civil Engineering/Tanzania), Fidelis Chimombe '15 (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science/Zimbabwe), Billy Ndengeyingoma '15, MCP '17 (Civil Engineering and Urban Studies & Planning/Rwanda), and Philip Abel Adama '15 (Computer Science & Engineering/Nigeria).
Radio Show Synopsis
They came from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Nigeria with a dream of an education at MIT that would allow them to transform their home communities. They found reality is something much more complicated.
The documentary "Brief Tender Light" follows the lives of five African-born MIT students, including director Arthur Musah ['04, MNG '05] himself, who were driven to study in the U.S. and create change at home.
Musah joins Radio Boston along with MIT graduate Philip Abel Adama to talk about the film, which premieres tonight at the Arlington International Film Festival.
This segment aired on October 16, 2023.
WBUR Radio Boston, 16 October 2023