I believe cinema is at its most powerful when it reveals the simple truths we all share, no matter where we are from.
RISE began with one such truth: that every child deserves the chance to be safe, to dream, to belong.

In Zimbabwe, on the margins, that truth takes the shape of a boy who must fight for it, literally.

I am drawn to outsiders: characters who live at the edges of society, who are underestimated, who don’t fit into neat narratives of triumph. Their lives demand a cinematic language that is visceral yet lyrical, grounded yet transcendent.

With RISE, I sought to craft a film that vibrates with the texture of Zimbabwean life - a place I deeply love and call home - the dust, the sweat, the shifting light, the layered sounds of night settling in a township - while carrying the momentum of a fight film. My influences range from the kinetic energy of City of God to the aching lyricism of Moonlight, and I wanted those tonal contradictions - grit and tenderness, brutality and beauty - to sit side by side.

Working entirely with an all-African cast and crew, I found that the making of RISE mirrored its themes: collaboration, trust, and a belief in what seems impossible. Our 8-year-old lead actor Sikhanyiso, a first-time performer, embodied the resilience I hoped to capture on screen. The set became a crucible of energy and care, proof that filmmaking is as much about building communities as it is about telling stories.

That RISE is the first Zimbabwean film - short or feature - to screen at Tribeca is not my achievement alone but a collective one. It underscores the need for more Zimbabwean voices on global stages, and I’m grateful this film can play even a small part in that conversation.

Ultimately, RISE is about the fight we all carry - the fight to be seen, to carve out safety and belonging, to prove that circumstance does not define destiny. I want audiences to leave the film with their pulse racing, but also with a quiet recognition: that even in the harshest conditions, there is beauty, and there is the possibility to rise.

— Jessica J. Rowlands