You know it but it don’t know you
Image: https://mapmagazine.co.uk/you-know-it-but-it-dont-know-you-after-tako-taal
Artist Tako Taal created the short film “You know it but it don’t know you” taking place in Gambia of students in hospitality and tourism, as she translates the language of Mandika to English. Even though I enjoyed watching the film, it was simple and beautiful yet moving.
At the end of the film, Taal displays the title “you know it but it don’t know you” and at that moment I did not realize that was the title of the film. However, I would like to speak what I thought about initially when I read those words after watching the film. I interpreted it like we are watching these students, we know them but they do not know the person watching. I find it fascinating that lives are happening at this moment that I do not know of, that the world keeps moving outside of my own life. So watching these students was intriguing as I got to know that these human beings are just as much alive as I am on this shared earth. Then I think, where was I at this moment? During time this filming, I was just as much alive as them, but somewhere else in the world. As I observe them, I think or imagine a story of their lives before they arrived at the filmed destination. For instance, did they walk or take car? Did they have breakfast that morning? What are their names? And so forth. I start to be captivated and curious about them, and they are beyond the screen. They have stories and they have emotions. It is like a mystery. And like the title states “you know it but it don’t know you”… I just got a speck of a glimpse knowing of them, and they know nothing about me or my existence.