Onias Landveld(1985) is a writer, voice over actor, storyteller, spoken word artist and the former Poet Laureate of the city of Tilburg. In 2015 he won the Van Dale Spoken Award for Storytelling and since then he’s been teaching concerning spoken word and (corporate) Storytelling. The later he teaches at the Radboud University but also at companies and institutions. As an artist he has created exposes for the Dutch National archives and museums. He performed in Europe and the Caribbean at festivals, for municipalities and multiple institutions. Currently he has a one man show called Roots and Cassave, wherein he entails the origin of his names and expresses his marroon identity. He mixes stories with poems to create a moving narrative.
Onias was born in Surinam, but fled the country due to a civil war in 1989. Since 1998 he has been living and working in the Netherlands again after moving back to Surinam in 1992.
Director Statement
I sought to create a team consisting solely out of people of color, because representation and ownership concerning these stories matter. I sought out (female) animators of color, because there are so few of them. I used composers of color, because using KUNU as a vehicle, their skills can be portrait. Kunu is a story about one trying to escape the curse brought upon him by history and circumstances. It is no secret that people of color are in a disadvantaged position. One’s actions certainly can help to lift that curse. But together, it becomes a far easier task.
Black Feedback Film Festival 