Chromatic Truths: Colour Grading as Storytelling in African Cinema 

Colour grading is an art that adds more depth to a story, and how the colours bounce off the characters adds to the narrative. I believe that when films have just a plain, or rather just a neutral, colour grade, they lose some sort of textual value. Colour grading is the art of shaping a film’s emotional palette; it is a way of transforming visuals into emotional landscapes. In African cinema, where stories carry deep cultural weight, colour grading becomes even more significant: it not only reflects the mood but also expresses identity, memory, and spiritual resonance. Let’s explore how two short films, God Is Grey (2024) and Patience (2025), use colour to deepen narrative meaning. 

God is Grey (2024), directed by Ghanaian filmmaker Jennifer Drake, is about a young man, Chris, who returns home for his mother’s funeral and has to confront generational disconnections and queer identity, as he grew up with two mothers. He has to confront the feelings he has towards his widowed mother. The film is graded into, much like the title, a grey palette that dips into blues, while simultaneously heightening the brown skin of the characters. It also plays around with sombre yellows at times. This colour palette encompasses the grief that the film is centred around, and brings across the sombre emotions that surround both lead characters. Ultimately, the story is about the complexity of mourning a hidden family structure, as the two mothers hid their relationship from family and friends. The yellows and browns reflect the tenderness of the memories that Chris has about his mother, allowing warmth to encapsulate the scenes that are more somber. 

Additionally, a strong colour palette can be seen to drive story in Patience (2025), directed by Valentin Guiod. The film is poetic and more experimental in form, loosely inspired by Mahmoud Traoré's underground story in 'Partir et Raconter' (Édition Lignes, 2017), between Abidjan and Seville. This short follows an immigrant and how he deals with feelings of love, anger, fear, resilience and longing in transition. The colour celebrates the rich african landscapes and features vibrant colours as a sort of reflection of the more nuanced feelings that the characters’ experience, like love at first sight and the intimacy between the central character Moudou and his love interest, as seen during an intimate vibrant club scene. The bright colours juxtapose the hardships of his journey and the people he is traveling with in former scenes. The journey is a traumatic one, including the presence of heavily armed soldiers, having to climb over the border to run away, the burning of his lover, and eventually being brought into prison. The amber and gold tones have more of a cultural feel evoking a sense of nostalgia, and the cooler undertones echo solitude and inner unrest. In this film, colour is not decorative or a part of the narrative, but rather a story within a story; it speaks of endurance, longing and spiritual dimensions of immigration. Proving that colour grading in African cinema is a tool that not just translates the story but also functions as a cultural translator. 

In African diasporic narratives, colour grading celebrates our nuanced identities - enhancing the shades of brown skin found in African communities, creating a deeper feeling of pride in our skin tone, which has often been sidelined due to Western beauty standards. In Patience, we see the dark skin tones embodied by characters embraced authentically, serving as a bridge to the audience's emotions and translating rich textures. What holds both Patience (2025) and God is Grey (2024) together is their chromatic honesty and intimacy. They invite us into African stories and celebrate the black body and black culture with intention and depth. The colour grades in both films resonate not just culturally but also emotionally. In the end, the colour helps the African stories explored to immerse the audience into empathy, cultural memory, and decolonial presence.

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About Kagata

My name is Kagata Damaries Mamabolo, and I’m a storyteller, filmmaker, and writer born in Limpopo and based in Johannesburg. My work lives at the intersection of memory, culture, and creative resistance. I use film, fiction, and visual art to explore African identity, mental landscapes, and the quiet power of everyday life.

Currently completing my BA Honours in Film and Television at the University of the Witwatersrand, I’m passionate about decolonial theory, cinematic storytelling, and the ways art can shift perspective. Whether I’m behind a camera, writing a script, or curating content, I’m always guided by the same question: What truths still need telling?

Beyond academia, I’m deeply drawn to fashion, history, literature, and music, disciplines that help me stretch the boundaries of my storytelling. I believe in the archive, the imagination, and the urgency of creating work that speaks back to silence.

I don’t just make things to be seen. I make things to be felt.