Brief and Tender Light: Film Screening & Conversation with Director Arthur Musah

Join OISS for a special screening of Brief and Tender Light (2023), an intimate documentary that follows four African students — from Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe — through nearly a decade at MIT as they work to turn their youthful ambitions into lasting change back home. The film captures the emotional weight of building a life between two worlds: the pressure of big dreams, the pull of family and homeland, and the quiet ways ambition shifts as reality sets in.

We're hosting this screening at a moment when the international student journey feels more uncertain than it has in years. This film is a chance to sit with the resilience, sacrifice, and hope that define that journey — and to remember that its brightest moments, however brief, leave something lasting behind.

Following the film, we're honored to welcome director Arthur Musah for a conversation about the making of the film and his own migration story — born in his mother's native Ukraine, raised in his father's native Ghana, and arriving in the U.S. at 19. Arthur brings a rare, personal understanding to the questions this film raises, and we invite you to bring yours.

The conversation will be moderated by two of Yale's own international students. 

Elizabeth Kenda is a junior at Yale studying Biomedical Engineering with a certificate in Global Health Studies. Originally from Kenya, she works at the Office of International Students and Scholars and the Office of Career Strategies, tutors Swahili at the Center for Language Studies, and has helped lead Yale Model African Union and the Yale Africa Innovation Symposium. She is also Operations Manager at Assistive Math, an ed-tech startup serving students in Kenya, and has worked on global health projects at the Shamiri Institute in Nairobi and the Global Health Ethics Program at the Yale Institute for Global Health. She continues to seek opportunities to advance her knowledge and share her experience in conversation with people from different backgrounds. 

Thabile Moyo is a sophomore at Yale University studying Biomedical Engineering and pursuing interests at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship. Originally from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, he is interested in developing innovative solutions to healthcare challenges in underserved communities, particularly across Africa. At Yale, he is involved in the African Students Association, Mock Trial, and the STARS program. He has also worked in education, tutoring primary school students in Zimbabwe, and is interested in expanding access to educational and professional opportunities for students from under-resourced backgrounds. Drawing on his experiences navigating the international university admissions process, he hopes to help make opportunities like Yale more accessible to students who might not otherwise consider them. He continues to explore opportunities in biomedical research, global health, and entrepreneurship while learning from people with diverse experiences and perspectives.

Please register to attend and open to the Yale and New Haven community. 

Generously cosponsored by: Office of International Students and Scholars, Yale LGBTQ Center, Yale Office for Postdoctoral Affairs, Yale Young Global Scholars, and Yale Young African Scholars.

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