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dilmandila

@[email protected]

I Write. I make films. Transmedia artist. My blog @dilman is about my works and life. I daydream a lot and want to be paid for it. Been creating #sff #scifi for long but only recently was BSFA + Nommo Awards + PKD Awards 2024 finalist!

My films #DilmanShortFilms

#fedi22 #filmmaking #writing #writingcommunity #film #writer #filmmaker #solarpunk

East Africa

Avatar: my selfie in a grey hood, in a misty freezing town, I look miserable. Header: comic page of a woman holding a baby

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@JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    dilmandila ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    @JessTheUnstill Would creating lists help? I make a list based on certain criteria, and it somehow helps

    @Alice@beige.party avatar Alice , to random

    WARNING: Long post and NO point, but a very real example of what it's like to try to have a conversation with me...

    To start, I have autism and ADHD (AuDHD) and I just had a conversation with a stranger that's a pretty typical conversation I have where I start talking about something I care a LOT about but then get ten words in and uncontrollably switch to a different topic and keep repeating that pattern until the other person manages to escape.

    Here's a near transcription of my last conversation that started earlier this evening at a show for a band I like called The Beths where I was wearing a t-shirt for an adjacent band called ALVVAYS and saw another person wearing a different ALVVAYS shirt:

    Me: I like your ALVVAYS shirt! Did you see The Beths open for ALVVAYS the last time they were in California?

    Them: Yeah! I saw both at The Greek in Berkeley!

    Me: Cool! I saw them both in Oakland!

    Them: Neat! I went for ALVVAYS and The Beths opened and I really liked them!

    Me: Me too! I've been listening to ALVVAYS for years, but didn't know about The Beths until they opened and I really liked them which is why I’m here now!

    (This is where AuDHD Alice kicks in)

    Me (continuing): I was JUST thinking about the chain of events that lead to me being here, so it was that ALVVAYS show where The Beths opened and I wouldn't have even known about ALVVAYS if my coworker hadn't introduced me to them about ten years ago.

    The reason my coworker mentioned them is because I was wearing a Jawbreaker shirt so he realized we liked similar music and thought I might like ALVVAYS and he was totally right!

    The reason I was wearing a Jawbreaker shirt is because we worked for a scrappy startup in the Bay Area where nobody cared about anything and you could wear whatever you wanted as long as you got your job done.

    I got that job because I used to work for Yelp because my former Yelp coworker started working for that startup and referred me.

    I got the job at Yelp because my mom had stage 4 cancer and was DYING so I moved from Chicago to Phoenix to take care of her and Yelp had a location in Arizona so I interviewed and I got that job.

    I'm pretty sure I got the job because my resume used Avenir as the font and the hiring manager liked it.

    We also talked about The Neverending Story which is one of my favorite movies and apparently one of his, so we bonded because I mentioned job interviews making me feel like Atreyu trying to run through those laser shooting sculptures and he said he totally got it and somehow I still got the job.

    That job eventually lead me to the startup which brought me to the coworker who introduced me to ALVVAYS which introduced me to The Beths and that's why I’m here now.

    How did you find out about The Beths?

    Them: Oh. Uh. Just that ALVVAYS show where The Beths opened, as I previously mentioned.

    Me: Oh okay good talk have a nice night.

    dilmandila ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    @ganbatte @Alice Sounds like my daily life. Only that I start to say something and perhaps my brain tricks me into thinking I've said it all so I mumble a few words then stop. Like once I was learning French and the teacher was impressed at how quickly I got it, so he asked, "Have you learned French before?" And I said "No, but I play the guitar."

    What I wanted to say in full was; "No, but I'm in a guitar club with lots of Congolese French speaking people so I pick words here and there...."

    @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party avatar TheBreadmonkey , to random

    Underage girls is a weird thing for the news to call children

    dilmandila ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    @TheBreadmonkey Perhaps they mean babies....?

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    "In a capitalist media ecosystem, the primary frame of reference for understanding the world of technology is profit. If something doesn't generate profit, has no obvious pathway to profit, and isn't backed by people who are viewed as experts on making profit, it is assumed to be a failure by default. From that point forward, any success is accepted reluctantly, slowly, or not at all."

    Why Mastodon and the fediverse are "doomed to fail" — eloquence
    https://write.as/eloquence/why-mastodon-and-the-fediverse-are-doomed-to-fail

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    A dirt road cuts through greenery, gardens by the roadside in a residential suburb of Kampala. High power lines tower into the sky, and red rooftops peep above the greenery. Big white clouds loiter under the blue sky.
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    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    A still from my most recent film, The Night Dancer. There's tall grass in the foreground, three banana plants in the mid ground, and in the background a mostly clear sky with hints of the evening.
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    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    I'm making a new film, a dark comedy set in a world where direct democracy thrives, no politicians, no central governments, where communities are self-sufficient and help each other to survive the climate crisis. But I need your support to imagine this future.

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    598/2000

    This film is the final step toward making a feature set in this world.

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I'm crowdfunding for my new short film, a story focused on direct democracy, and need your support. I can't do a kickstarter since all such platforms only allow creators from particular countries, excluding mine, yet I really want to imagine a future without capitalism and central governments. There are lots of perks for each $$ you can spare!

    73/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    After today's donations, I'm about 7% funded 2days after I begin seeking your support to make a shortfilm themed on direct democracy, community governance, and self-sustaining villages with all the goodies needed in modern life. I'm excluded from platforms like so I'm counting on you to help spread the word, or give what you can to help me visualize this future🙏

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I woke up to generous donations so we are at 262/2000. Thank you so much for pushing me closer to visualising my vision of the future, a world with direct democracy and every village has some level of self-sufficiency, so no corrupt politicians and no capitalism. I'm doing it through a short film, and since I'm excluded from platforms like I have to rely on your word of mouth.

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film


    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    Someone asked if ostracism in my shortfilm fits I borrow from pre-colonial cultures to imagine how communities will handle crime yet there's no government/police using violence/jail in the name of justice.They will use rituals of reconciliation/restorative justice, but if a person is unrepentant/unwilling to pay compensatory fines, they get banished. Help me make this

    303/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    Now at 354/2000 four days after I started a campaign to use a dark comedy film to envision a future with no central government, no politicians, no military - everyone participates in running the country and they use restorative justice to handle crime with banishment as last resort. I'm excluded from platforms like so I rely on you to spread the word!

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    No utopia is perfect. There will always be some kind of pain, so in my short film, a couple fight over chicken, but this is not just material for a dark comedy. It is a talk about food as the crisis disrupts farming, with inspiration from food preservation techniques in pre-colonial cultures Help me make this film with a boost, or if you can.

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    375/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    A generous donation takes me a step closer to imagining a future with no central governments, no politicians, no police and where communities use restorative justice to handle crime. I'm doing this through a short film, and relying on your support to spread the word since platforms like exclude me, due to how global finance systems are set up.

    425/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    Yay! It's always nice to wake up to good news. About 6 days after launching campaign to use to imagine a future, we've now raised 30% of our goal. Your generosity is touching! I still need your support to boost the drive, and donate if you can, so I can tell a story set in a world with no governments, no politicians, no police. Just ordinary folk running their lives.

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    598/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    Donations to my short film now at

    725/2000

    Yay! It makes me dream of hitting $1,000 in the first week of the campaign. Thank you all so much for coming through for me, as I imagine a future with no governments or politicians or police, and technology exists to make every village self-sufficient so capitalism is no more. We can dream of the world we want to live in!

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    One tech I'll explore in this short film is vertical gardens to save small farms from being washed away after change floods. Still working out the physics of such a structure (any ideas?) like a two-storied building made of bamboo and earth, not steel and concrete, or vegetables growing in pots several feet above ground. Help me visualize this world and get some cool rewards!
    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    767/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    It's been a good first week of this I didn't expect to get this much so soon! Thank you very much for your support to this short film! It's a future with no central governments, no politicians, no police, and tech exists to make every village largely self-sufficient. We are now at

    826/2000

    and I still need your support. Please share! Donate if you can

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    Due to what happened to and other places, we must discuss the future of governance. This film is my take on the topic; decolonize leadership and establish democracies that serve people rather than politicians and the rich. The story will perhaps inspire questions on why power resides only in the hands of a few dangerous buffoons. Help me tell it.

    Boost, and donate if you can!

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    896/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I want to imagine how communities might survive the climate crisis, in a sweet daydream of self-sufficient villages that have all the comforts of modern life, but without capitalism! Without the kind of financial system that excludes people like me from platforms like Your support will help me visualize this fantasy. Boost or donate if you have a spare dollar!

    996/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    A lot of my works fit but I discovered the genre recently and so this film is the first I'm making with it in mind. meaning I have to carefully create the futurism aesthetics to fit. I imagine a world without central governments or the police or capitalism, and I'm seeking your support to create this future.

    996/2000

    Please boost! Donate if you can spare dollar! https://www.dilmandila.com/embracing-solarpunk-in-my-stories/

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    spoke to me for it is all about activism, imagining a future we would all want to live in. There is the tech and aesthetics to depict, but there is also the worldview, for clean energy without social justice is greenwashing! In this I imagine direct democracy in a sustainable world free from capitalism. Help me make it! Share with your friends or donate if you can!

    Details: https://www.dilmandila.com/embracing-solarpunk-in-my-stories/

    1041/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I'm making a film in the genre, live action (rather than animation) set in the near future for I want to imagine practical alternatives to capitalism. Given recent events in and other places battling fascism, I envision a world where direct democracy is possible, so no central governments, politicians, or police/military. Help me make it!

    1145/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/embracing-solarpunk-in-my-stories/

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I'm for a film via my website as I'm excluded from major platforms (I'm based on the wrong continent) I've developed it since 2018 and will shoot next year, but I have to figure out the vfx needed to envision this futuristic world with no capitalism, where direct democracy thrives. I need your support! Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film
    1170/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    The generous donations today leave me breathless with thanks! I'm closer to reaching my first goal to make this film that imagines a future with no government so we have direct democracy; no police so we use traditional justice systems; no capitalism so no poverty. It's a dream worth having! Your support will help me envision this future.
    Details: https://www.dilmandila.com/embracing-solarpunk-in-my-stories/
    1390/2000

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I dream about the future as escapism. Things are bleak; bad governance in much of Africa, the crisis unfolding, fascism in the but in my head it turns out OK. This is perhaps how I began creating stuff like this film set in a post-capitalist world where direct democracy ensures everyone has a say in running the government. Help me make it! Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    The first two weeks of this is good! I didn't expect so much so soon! Thank you very much for your love to this short film! It's a future with no central governments, no politicians, no police, and tech exists to make every village largely self-sufficient. I need your support to envision this future. Boost or donate if you can!

    1390/2000
    Details: https://www.dilmandila.com/embracing-solarpunk-in-my-stories/

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    This support my short film, to enable me master the visual effects needed to bring a near future world to life. I'm telling a story set in a country without governments, politicians or police, where ordinary folk govern themselves in a direct Sharing this post with your networks, or donating, will help envision this future!

    1410/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I just read a news that the boom in Pakistan coincided with the rapid depletion of water tables, perhaps a sign that capitalism will derail the revolution. I'm making a film that envisions a future where profit doesn't drive change, and clean energy happens with social justice. I need your support to make it 🙏 Share or donate if you can!

    1430/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/embracing-solarpunk-in-my-stories/

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar
    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    As I prepare to write the script for this film, I gather my thoughts to clarify the ideas I want to put out clearly, and so this blog post hints at life in this future without a centralized government, no police or military, and no capitalism.

    I need your support to make it! Please share, or donate if you can!

    1450/2000

    Details: https://www.dilmandila.com/the-solarpunk-ideas-ill-explore-in-my-new-film/

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    Clean energy without fixing the system will recycle the injustices of today. Some see in Africa's solar boom, but I fear we’ll end up with a few monopoly corporations and will happen.

    I'm making a film that imagines a green future with no capitalism, no politicians, no central governments or police, and I need your support to make it!

    1537/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/the-solarpunk-ideas-ill-explore-in-my-new-film/

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I'm close to goal for a comedy film set in a near future with no central government, politicians, or capitalism; ordinary citizens govern themselves and support each other to survive the crisis. Stories like this inspire hope that this future is possible. So show me some love, share! Or donate if you can!

    1537/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I'm for a short film to work out needed to imagine a future with no capitalism, no states, no politicians. Instead people govern themselves and set up egalitarian systems as they face the crisis. I need your support to make it! Please share, or donate. There are rewards of my arts for each penny you can spare.

    1608/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    dilmandila OP ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    I daydream about food processing technologies to fight hunger in the climate crisis. What if everyone had a gadget in their kitchen that easily preserves fruits, vegs, etc, before they go bad? Help me imagine it in a film set in an egalitarian world that runs on direct democracy and is free from capitalism!

    1608/2000

    Details https://www.dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-solarpunk-short-film

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    Oh, and I'm making a new film, a dark comedy in the genre, about a man in an African techno-utopia who is banished from his village for a crime he did not commit. It's the last short I'm doing as target practice before I embark on a feature film next year, and if you have a few coins to spare, please help me figure out how to imagine this future.

    https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=TT9Q7XRPVYB4Y&v=1&utm_unptid=a302a27b-b66b-11f0-af04-43e5cd9b43ca&ppid=RT001640&cnac=US&rsta=en_US%28en-US%29&cust=WTQRFDWMY2SMW&unptid=a302a27b-b66b-11f0-af04-43e5cd9b43ca&calc=f1356002b29c8&unp_tpcid=donate-button-campaign-created&page=main%3Aemail%3ART001640&pgrp=main%3Aemail&e=cl&mchn=em&s=ci&mail=sys&appVersion=1.366.0&tenant_name=PAYPAL&xt=145585%2C150948%2C104038&link_ref=www.paypal.com_donate

    @GetCarter@mastodonapp.uk avatar GetCarter , to random

    Looking north over Loch Shieldaig. Weather probably best described as 'soft'.

    Tree covered island in the sea. Almost a rainbow.
    ALT
    dilmandila ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    @GetCarter At first I thought it was a photo of a sea monster.... The shape of the island is animaloid (is that like saying humanoid or did I misfire?)

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    This got me cracking up really, a good laugh for a Sunday
    https://youtu.be/BKorP55Aqvg?si=-Y72tlUBLCiADP06

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    A flower with bright yellow petals dominates the frame, and there are droplets of water on it after a rain. There are other flowers on the shrub, which is out of focus in the background, and the evening sky shows.
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    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    A shot through a car's rain smeared windscreen, of a red car driving in the rain, a watercolor-like image. Somewhere in Kampala, Uganda
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    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    So I won't be continuing with mocap anymore so I'm giving up my Rokoko Smartsuit Pro 1. Included are three textiles (Large, Medium, Small) and a Smart Gloves (still boxed). If you want it please message me, offer what you think is a fair compensation and pay for shipping (from Uganda, so might be between $50-100, depending on where you are). Or tell someone who you think might want it :-))

    Boosts are welcome!

    Three black outfits, made like jumpsuits, laid out on a gray tiled floor.
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    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    Extremely offline: what happened when a Pacific island was cut off from the internet | Tonga | The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/sep/30/tonga-pacific-island-internet-underwater-cables-volcanic-eruption?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    "One hundred and sixty-five years after the first telegraph link was laid, these cables still wind around the world just as the great powers and their corporations see fit – to the point that the cables become tokens themselves of the contests for might and wealth, shaping and distorting the internet as we know it."

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    "There is a fundamental flaw in the radical rejection of past practices in the name of “civilization.” To return to old practices that are nature based and that open the door to experiencing the magic and beauty of this world, we must de-emphasize consumerism and reemphasize spirit."

    https://www.thesunmagazine.org/articles/22686-between-two-worlds#

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    On Sept 12 saw a new prime minister swearing in, and she was elected using Discord! That left me feeling prophetic for some of my stories, and the feature film I will shoot next year, is themed on direct democracy where every citizen is a parliamentarian they run the country using a social media type of app, and the events in Nepal validate my imagination. I gathered my thoughts in this post.
    https://www.dilmandila.com/on-prophecy-and-writing-about-the-future/

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    Something interesting is happening to the fedi, I keep running into more accounts of people based in my side of the world, those close to East Africa (I even saw a Shona poem today, from further down south). I know it's not a mass migration but it's a snail spreading the word. Not a cheetah. So I will have a reason to smile today.

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    How do you work with the cloth brush in Blender sculpt mode to fake cloth simulations on character animations? What I'm doing; pose the character, create a shape key, go into sculpt mode to shape the cloth, then animate the shape key to match the character motion, combine this with dynamic bones to create a jiggle effect.... Is there a more optimal way? The cloth sim is a pain+slow+unpredictable for very fast moves, hence this option. Any other method to try?

    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila , to random

    So this here are two new accounts you might find worth giving a follow.

    @sisi A film collective based in Uganda, and they share stories about the people whose lives they impact through trainings and film.

    @Sanyu An award winning filmmaker and a student of animation who loves to laugh.

    @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party avatar TheBreadmonkey , to random

    Just listening to the news about the recovered Van Gogh painting nicked during lockdown. First off - great. I'm on the side of art and love anything that feels even slightly 'heisty'. But second.... Possibly a bit of a '2am after smoking some of the old doob' thought, but imagine doing a painting so good someone steals it nearly 140 years later and it makes the news! VG famously not famous in his own lifetime of course. Really makes you think. Perhaps someone will NFT my toots and they'll be worth a fortune in a couple of hundred years. Imagine that. My last post was that John Cena has a big face. Might be in a museum in the future with tours and school trips and potential heisters. Lovely.

    dilmandila ,
    @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar

    @TheBreadmonkey You assume people in 2200 will understand what you are saying? What if they understand it in such a way that your toots replace the Bible?