ABOUT
Sosena Solomon
Sosena Solomon is an Ethiopian-American social documentary film and multimedia visual artist whose work explores cross-sections of various subcultures and communities in flux to carefully tease out cultural nuances and capture personal narratives through arresting visual storytelling.
Solomon has worked for many years in the commercial and nonprofit sectors as a director and cinematographer on a range of short film projects, including Dreaming of Jerusalem, a Discovery-plus original documentary about the Ethiopian Jewish community in Gondar, and MERKATO, filmed on location in one of Africa’s largest open-air markets and exhibited internationally as an audio, visual, and sensory installation. She has exhibited work at the Sundance Film Festival, Cinema Africa, Tribeca Film Festival, and DOC NYC.
She earned her BA in Television Production from Temple University and her MFA in Social Documentary film from the School of Visual Arts. During her fellowship at the Center for Experimental Ethnography at the University of Pennsylvania, she developed and taught the Documentary Ethnography for Museums and Exhibitions course. She is currently lecturing at the University of Pennsylvania and teaches at the Community College of Philadelphia, furthering her commitment to educating and mentoring the next generation of filmmakers and visual storytellers.
WJS Interview with Sosena Solomon
Honors
Recent Clients and Projects
BlackStar Film Festival
Festival juror and selection committee, 2023
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Arts of Africa, 2022
World Monuments Fund
Director & Filmmaker, 2022
MTV, 16 & Released
Cinematographer, 2022
Living While American
Director & Cinematographer
BBC Studios
Faith Ringgold documentary, Segment Director, 2019
Discovery Channel
Dreaming of Jerusalem
Director & Cinematographer, 2021
Monument Lab
Director & Filmmaker, 2021
Africa Channel
Africa Everywhere Series, Cinematographer, 2018
National Geographic
Expedition Explorer and Filmmaker, 2018
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Director /Filmmaker, 2023-2024
Directed and filmed twelve documentary films, three of which will form a permanent installation in the new exhibit of African art at the newly redesigned Rockefeller Wing
University of Pennsylvania
Lecturer, 2017-present
Developed core syllabus and lecture criteria for Video 1/ Advanced Video/ Documentary Ethnography for Museums and Exhibitions course.
Temple University School of Communication
Adjunct Instructor/Lecturer, 2014-2016
History of Electronic Media
Future of Television Media & Culture Media
Images & Analysis
University Of The Arts
Adjunct Instructor/Lecturer, 2015-2017
Developed core syllabus and lectured criteria for the following courses:
Film 124 Documentary (pre College program)
Experimental ( Pre-College Program)
SOTU Productions
Art Director, 2008
Worked with creative director to complete projects including photo shoots, set design, and event design. Responsibilities also included assembling presskits and promotional materials.
BLACKLILIY Film AD
Music Festival Program Coordinator, 2008
Served as a member of the steering and program committee. Accounted for all film submissions and programming. Supported managerial and creative tasks for the festival.
PBS Affiliate, WHUT TV
Production Assistant/Intern, 2004-2006
Served as a videographer for various events and transcribed tapes for post-production. Responsible for creating PSAs for the programming department.
Festivals
2023
2023
2022
2022
2018
2018
Workshops/
lectures
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, 2023
What Makes a Cultural Landmark? Perspectives from Ethiopia, Ghana, Cameroon, and Uganda.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, 2024
The Barnes Museum
Philadelphia, 2016
Henri Cartier Bresson the Decisive moment and Documentary Storytelling
The African American Museum
Philadelphia, PA 2017
Ousmane Sembane's Black Girl+ African Cinema
Haverford College
Strange Truth Series, 2017
A Portrait of Jason through an Observational Lens
University of Pennsylvania
African Cinema Symposium, 2017
Merkato Installation
University of Pennsylvania School of Anthropology
FALL 2023 Documentary Ethnography for Museums and Exhibitions
University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design
SPRING 2021 Video 1a / Video 1b/ Senior Thesis Seminar
FALL 2020: Video 1a / Video 1b/ Senior Thesis Seminar
SPRING 2020: Video 1a / Advanced Video (iii)
FALL 2019: Video 1a / Video 1b
SPRING 2019: Video 1a / Advanced Video (iii)
FALL 2018: Video 1a / Advanced Video (iii)
SPRING 2018: Video 1a / Video 1b
FALL 2017: Video 1a
SPRING 2017: Video 1a
University of the Arts School of Film
SPRING 2020: Perception of Time
SPRING 2017: FILM 124
FALL 2017: FILM 316 - Documentary
FALL 2016: FILM124
Temple University
FALL 2017: Media & Cultural Differences
SPRING 2017: Media Images and Analysis / Media and Cultural Differences FALL 2016: Media Images and Analysis / History of Electronic Media SPRING 2016: Future of Television / History of Electronic Media
SOLO LECTURES / WORKSHOPS
Intro to Filmmaking, Detroit Media Alliance, 2021
Cinematography + Visual Storytelling”
Scribe Video Center
Philadelphia, 2016 / 2021
14-Week Production Workshop
Scribe Video Center
Philadelphia, 2020 / 2019
Lecture, “Experimental Video”
ICA Public Engagement Program Series in Contemporary Art, 2018
Experimental Story Telling with Glaciers: National Geographic Expeditions (Iceland, 2018)
Lecture, “Henri Cartier Bresson the Decisive Moment and Documentary Storytelling”
The Barnes Museum, 2017
Artist Talk, “The Black Extra / Ordinary” Symposium, Visual Culture
Arts and Media Center, Haverford College, 2017
Visual Storytelling: Food as a Cultural Heritage and Community Building”
Scribe Video Center, 2017
Lecture, “Ousmane Sembène's Black Girl, Merkato, and African Cinema”
African American Museum, 2017
Lecture, “A portrait of Jason through an observational lens”
Strange Truth Series, Haverford College, 2017
Digital Filmmaking: Documentary Storytelling”
University of the Arts Continuing Education Program, 2016
Experimental Film
University of the Arts Continuing Education Program, 2016
Digital Cinematography + Documentary Film
University of the Arts Continuing Education Program, 2015
Artist Talk, Open Society Initiative for South Africa
OpenForum, Cape Town, 2012
Artist Talk, “The African Gathering Conference: Sharing Ideas For Positive Change”
School of Advanced International Studies
Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, 2011
In the Press
The Met to Reopen Its Arts of Africa Galleries in May 2025 Following a Multiyear Transformation
The Met press release, October 3, 2024
African Film Institute: Sosena Solomon, Mpho Matsipa, Natacha Nsabimana
e-flux Podcasts, June 10, 2024
African Film Institute Film Series: Sosena Solomon, Mpho Matsipa
e-flux Events, March 19, 2024
Bringing museum filmmaking into the classroom
Penn Today: Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, January 17, 2024
Documentary Ethnography
Center for Experimental Ethnography at the University of Pennsylvania, November 2, 2023
Dreaming of Jerusalem
Penn Today: Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, July 20, 2021
Sosena Solomon Speaks on Documenting Subcultures, Story Telling and Cultural Preservation
Philadelphia Print Works, November 1, 2014
