Directed by Louise Lockwood, tells the story of Beldina Odenyo, the Kenyan Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, who performed under the stage name, Heir of the Cursed as well as working across Scotland’s theatre and poetry communities. After her acclaimed performance at the Scottish Album of the Year Awards in 2021, Bel took her own life. She left behind raw, intimate video diaries and a hard drive full of original songs of great beauty. This stirring film documents the journey her sister and friends took to release her work posthumously, creating a heartfelt, insightful portrait of a complex, intelligent and profoundly talented young woman.
If you ever wanted to see an example of a documentary which comes from a deep place of love and respect, made in memory of an artist, to admire and celebrate everything they were, look no further than Bel. Following Leah McAleer as she attempts to truly honour her sister, Beldina Odenyo by releasing her music is incredibly heartfelt, and extremely moving to watch. Louise Lockwood does such a wonderful job of creating a balancing act between exploring the tragedy of Bel’s short life, while never letting that weight take away from portraying her extraordinary talent.
That’s a big part of what makes Bel such a strong documentary, it moves so well, the editing and pacing are excellent, and Lockwood manages to instil Odenyo’s personality into the atmosphere. Especially because of how much of her music is captured throughout the documentary, her work came from a distinct mix of passion and pain, and you can sincerely feel that. Especially when Lockwood takes the time to explore where a lot of that pain came from, capturing the heavy weight which laid upon the shoulders of Odenyo, dealing with grief, trauma and racism.
The cinematography is superb, and the compelling presence which Lockwood creates for Bel is another factor which does Odenyo a great justice. It reflects her complexity, her talent and her struggle. It’s also great to see how the documentary approaches mental health, it’s very considerate, both of Odenyo and of those she left behind. There’s a healthy recognition of that while they of course wish there was more that they could have done to help her, they were there for her and they showed her that they loved her, and continue to show it.
Bel is a beautiful documentary, it comes from such a wonderful, deep place of love and respect. Leah McAleer’s dedication to her sister’s memory, to creating the album her sister never had the chance to make, despite not being in the industry, is a truly thoughtful task. Beldina Odenyo’s music is incredible, and it deserves to be remembered and celebrated, she had a unique talent and there’s so much complexity and emotion to be discovered in her words. The film is filled with Odenyo’s personality, it’s charming, poignant, sincerely heartfelt and a stunning homage.
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