Help Us Bring Chapel of Love to Life: Support the Purple Mountain Artist Residency to eight filmmakers from Africa the possibility to unite and make some magic!
After nearly a decade of virtual collaboration, 75 SHOTS, a non-profit collective of queer filmmakers from the Global South, living in oppressive regimes, is making history. For the first time, courageous artists—hailing from across Africa—will gather in person at the Purple Mountain Artist Residency in South Africa. With your help, we can make this transformative meeting a reality, allowing these creators to celebrate resilience, tell vital stories, and honour the legacy of our visionary friend and founding member, Wacyl Kha.
In Spring 2025, eight courageous and talented LGBTQIA+ artists from across Africa will converge in Cape Town, South Africa, for the artist residency. This month-long program creates a sanctuary for creativity, resilience, and collaboration, enabling participants to produce transformative art while fostering global connections with other local artists in South Africa
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About the Project: Chapel of Love
During the residency, these artists will create Chapel of Love, an anthology film that celebrates queer spirituality through intimate vignettes. This project will explore sacred experiences, rituals, and identities, highlighting the resilience and beauty of queer love at the intersection of identity and faith.
Who Are the Artists?
While their real names remain private for their safety, we proudly share their stories. Representing every corner of Africa—Somalia, Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Nigeria—these individuals are activists, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, technicians, and students. They are queer, bi, non-binary, trans, lesbian, and gay.
Some have won prestigious awards.
Others live in secret, oppressed by laws and societal stigma.
Many have faced homelessness, familial rejection, and violence.
Yet, they are resilient, creating art that gives voice to the silenced.
The residency is also a tribute to Wacyl Kha, one of our founding members, tragically murdered. Their dream of gathering in-person to connect with like minded individuals and embody a peaceful and healing moment in time where we can be our true self.
Why South Africa?
South Africa, while not free from challenges, has decriminalized queer activity and legalized same-sex marriage and offers a relatively safer environment for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Here, local healers, activists, and artists will join us in an exchange of ideas and cultures. Through collaboration, we aim to empower our voices and amplify them across the globe.
How You Can Help
This residency is more than an artistic endeavour; it’s a lifeline. Your support helps us:
Cover travel and living expenses for artists.
Fund the production of Chapel of Love.
Create a global movement for LGBTQIA+ visibility, resilience, and solidarity.
Every contribution brings us closer to our dream—a world where we can live, thrive, and simply be. Please donate here
Together, let’s honour the legacy of those we’ve lost and ensure that these vital stories are heard.
Happy holidays.
Thank you!
With love & in solidarity
75 SHOTS Family
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