COGITO, ERGO SUM
COGITO, ERGO SUM
by: AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS
by: AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS
FILM SYNOPSIS
This hybrid documentary fuses the real-life reflections of ceramicist Malcolm Mobutu Smith with a claymation resurrection of the long-erased Black comic character Li’L Tuffy—who return to confront his origins, reclaim his stories, and ask: Who’s holding the pen now? With claymation this doc explores race, memory, and artistic agency through the hands and words of Professor Malcolm Mobutu Smith (Indiana University Bloomington), a ceramicist whose practice is rooted in Black material expression. As he shapes clay and reflects on the frozen imprints of time and identity, his words awaken one forgotten figure from America’s comic book past: Li’L Tuffy, a fictional amalgam inspired by the lost promise of All-Negro Comics.
FILMMAKER BIO
FILM CATEGEORY
FILM BLOCK # - DAY, VENUE, TIME OF FILM SCREENING
WRITERS:
AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS
PRODUCERS:
AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS
KEY CAST:
Malcolm Mobutu Smith
OTHER:
NA
This hybrid documentary fuses the real-life reflections of ceramicist Malcolm Mobutu Smith with a claymation resurrection of the long-erased Black comic character Li’L Tuffy—who return to confront his origins, reclaim his stories, and ask: Who’s holding the pen now? With claymation this doc explores race, memory, and artistic agency through the hands and words of Professor Malcolm Mobutu Smith (Indiana University Bloomington), a ceramicist whose practice is rooted in Black material expression. As he shapes clay and reflects on the frozen imprints of time and identity, his words awaken one forgotten figure from America’s comic book past: Li’L Tuffy, a fictional amalgam inspired by the lost promise of All-Negro Comics.
FILMMAKER BIO
FILM CATEGEORY
FILM BLOCK # - DAY, VENUE, TIME OF FILM SCREENING
WRITERS:
AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS
PRODUCERS:
AHMED TAHSIN SHAMS
KEY CAST:
Malcolm Mobutu Smith
OTHER:
NA
