Ramaa Mosley

Ramaa Mosley
Born	Ramaa Devi Mosley New Orleans, Louisiana
Residence	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Laurel Springs School
Alma mater	Bennington
Occupation	American commercial, music video and feature film director, and screenwriter.
Notable work	The Brass Teapot (director) Grace (director) Girl Rising (producer, Afgan section)
Spouse(s)	Cameron Gray 2004

Ramaa Devi Mosley is an American commercial, music video and feature and documentary film director based in Los Angeles. She is also an activist, known for raising national awareness of the victims of the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping in Nigeria by using social media to raise awareness. Mosley is credited with raising national and international awareness about the Nigerian school girls. In an interview Mosley conducted with CNN on May 7, 2014 to discuss the abduction of the Nigerian girls, Mosley raised national consciousness on the issue of the Nigerian kidnappings.^[1] In a short pre-recorded interview with ABC News, Mosley also had the chance to raise awareness about the kidnappings, and how social media has helped to galvanize a movement for justice.^[2]

Girl Rising

In 2013 Mosley directed the Afghan segment of the documentary Girl Rising which follows the harrowing stories of girls around the world struggling to get an education. Girl Rising "is a global campaign for girls’ education." Which uses "the power of storytelling to share the simple truth that educating girls can transform societies.Girl Rising unites girls, women, boys and men who believe every girl has the right to go to school and the right to reach her full potential."

Mosley is one of five directors who were asked by 10x10 Documentary Group to direct a segment of the documentary, though she is not part of the Girl Rising organization, she has spoken out repeatedly in the news about the importance of educating girls and remains a supporter of the cause (see Katie Couric interview ).

#BringBackOurGirls campaign

In the wake of the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping in Nigeria, Mosley gained national recognition for raising awareness about the atrocity. Utilizing social media to support the Bring Back Our Girls movement in Abuja, Nigeria. Mosley re-tweeted #BringBackOurGirls, which became a prominent part of the hashtag activism surrounding the incident.^[3] In an interview with ABC News Mosley said that upon hearing of the kidnapping she wept, and originally planned to travel to Chibok to cover the story, but later decided to campaign on social media instead because of her young children.^[3] The subsequent ABC News story was originally titled "Los Angeles Mother of Two Creates Viral Hashtag", but was later updated when Mosley wrote the Producers to complain with a note reflecting the fact that Mosley was not the first to tweet the hashtag.^[4]

The hashtag had been started by Nigerian Ibrahim M. Abdullahi, echoing a phrase said by the former vice president of the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili in a speech.^[3] Originally retweeted 95 times, including by Ezekwesili who has 125,000 followers on Twitter.^[4] Mosley began tweeting the hashtag to her friends, and then the President of the United States, Barack Obama.^[3] Mosely described the hashtag as an "SOS to the world".^[3] A Facebook page about the kidnapping started by Mosley had more than 43,000 likes by early May and 230,000 by July. ^[3] Mosely said the incident had "...consumed my life and I believe it will until the girls are rescued." Mosley organized and attended five protest rallies in Los Angeles, drawing hundreds of people who collectively chanted the slogan. ^[3] The Guardian's story on the kidnapping was tweeted more than 3,500 times on April 23 and but received its largest boost from the performer Chris Brown.^[4] The majority of prominent uses of the hashtag was by accounts related to the news network CNN.^[4] Subsequently, Mosley co-organized a Mother's Day vigil. On May 22nd, Mosley also held a global school girl march, in which thousands of school girls in cities around the world marched to raise awareness about the Chibok girl's plight.

Life and career

Mosley was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mosley is the daughter of Marilyn Mosley-Gordanier and Rick Mosley and has two brothers, Raphael and Michael. She has two children.

Mosley was born on an Ashram and eventually grew up in Ojai, California, and attended Laurel Springs school.

Mosley has directed two documentaries, We Can Make A Difference and Two Seasons and Home.

Mosley has written and directed two short films, The Brass Teapot and Grace. She is one of the most successful female commercial directors in the industry and to date, Mosley won best director at the First Glance Film Festival for her short film “Grace”. In 2011 she won the Audience Choice Award at Dance Camera West for her short film “In Dreams I Run Wild”. Mosley has directed the feature film The Brass Teapot and produced the Afghanistan segment of 10x10's feature film "Girl Rising"^[5]

Feature films

The Brass Teapot Mosley's first feature film, was based on the comic book series that Mosley and Tim Macy co-wrote. ^[6]

The Brass Teapot starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano was shot for a budget of 850k over 21 days in the summer of 2012. The movie premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film festival where it was warmly received. New York-based distribution company Magnolia Picture inked a deal for The Brass Teapot, which Mosley shot in Upstate New York. The film was released on April 5, 2013. In Movie Nation, critic Roger Moore says of The Brass Teapot, "Equal parts dark and comically disturbing, “The Brass Teapot” is a fantasy parable for our times, a film that literally equates pain with greed." In Variety, chief international Film Critic Peter Debruge called the movie "a fresh riff on 'be careful what you wish for; fables". Film Journal said of it "Few farces have started out with such an outlandish premise, but director Ramaa Mosley has complete conviction in it that, along with the engaging lead performances, keep the comedy percolating." and Of Mosley's directing of the actor's, Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Schenk says, "The two leads deliver highly appealing performances, with the comely Temple showing no reluctance to frequently doff most of her clothing and Angarano displaying an offbeat comic sensibility." Paste Magazine's film critic, Leland Montgomery says of Mosley, "Though The Brass Teapot is Ramaa Mosley’s first feature, it feels as if it’s steered by a much more experienced hand. The story is set up and unfolds in a very subtle, nuanced manner that enriches each reveal. Though the story is sweet, Mosley mostly avoids sentimentalism and keeps the plot grounded, despite the supernatural elements." Debruge of Variety said of Mosley " Despite the inherent perversity of the concept, Mosley succeeds in maintaining a certain sweetness throughout. Even more impressively, she makes her low-budget enterprise look as slick as most midrange studio comedies, demonstrating herself a director with both imagination and technical ingenuity. If she wishes to work again, “The Brass Teapot” is likely to make it so." ^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Commercials

At the age of 21 years, Mosley was directing music videos and then award winning national and international commercials for clients such as Adidas, ESPNW, and Powerade. Most recently Mosley has directed commercials for ESPN, Levi’s and Nike. She is currently signed to Trio Films in Los Angeles.

Music videos

Mosley has directed over a dozen music videos since she began directing in 1998. Fizzy Bangers, Jil Sobule, Kristen Berry, B-52 "Debbie", Creed, Brendon Benson and Five For Fighting's "Superman."

Honors

Best Director First Glance Film Festival "Grace"
Dance Camera West audience Choice award ^[12]
Global 500 UNEP award "We Can Make A Difference" ^[13]

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reusing_Wikipedia_content