Lysanne Charles Ras Mosera
FRENCH QUARTER/ROTTERDAM--The cinepoem “The Sundering is Difficult”, created by artists Lysanne Charles and Ras Mosera, has been selected for the competition section of the upcoming Nederlands Poëziefilm Festival in Zutphen, the Netherlands. The screening will take place as part of the Wintertuin Programme 2025.
While the piece was featured at the same festival last year, it was not part of the competition. This year’s inclusion marks a significant milestone for the creators, particularly as the work continues to gain international recognition.
The artists have been informed that the jury members will view the selected competition films over the next several weeks and they will then jointly decide which film will receive the Dutch Poetry Film Festival Award at the NPF Award ceremony on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
“The Sundering is Difficult” is based on a poem written by Charles nearly 20 years ago. Its transformation into a visual art piece, conceptualised by Charles and led by Mosera, came after it was selected as one of the winners, chosen from a pool of 20 submissions, in Wintertuin Curaçao’s inaugural Caribbean Cinepoetry Contest.
The contest aims to bridge poetry and film, offering financial support and professional mentorship to selected artists. As part of the prize, Charles and Mosera worked alongside coaches Sharelly Emanuelson and Juan-Carlos Goilo to bring the cinepoem to completion.
The work explores the fragile yet deeply emotional relationship between mothers and daughters, particularly as mothers grow older and daughters face the inevitability of loss.
The narrative invites viewers to reflect on the lasting bonds with maternal figures, mothers, grandmothers, and other elders, and how these relationships shape our identities, strength, softness and our understanding of love.
For audiences in the SSS islands (Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten) the piece carries particular cultural significance, as it is an invitation to acknowledge and honour the wisdom and influence of elders, and to celebrate the vital roles they play in families and communities. The cinepoem is also a personal tribute to Charles’ Saba-born late great-grandmother Rebecca Levenstone and grandmothers Carmen Simmons and Agatha Wilson.
Charles credits their legacies of love, strength and determination as sources of inspiration for both her writing and broader artistic, activist and academic practices.
Lysanne Charles is a queer, Caribbean, feminist/womanist, activist, teacher, researcher, artist, writer, cultural researcher and organiser from Saba and Saint Martin whose work explores themes of identity, intergenerational memory, and social justice. She is also active in climate and governance initiatives with the Island(er)s at the Helm research project.
Ras Mosera, originally from St. Lucia and based in St. Martin, is a visual artist known for his bold,expressive style and his commitment to highlighting Caribbean realities through painting, multimedia, and film. His work often interrogates themes of heritage, transformation, and resistance.
The poem was also featured on Charles’ debut poetic album Prophecy, also made with Ras Mosera at the helm of music and production, which was supported by the Caribbean Culture Fund in 2024.
Both artists expressed gratitude that their work continues to resonate across cultural and geographic boundaries.
“When I wrote this poem many, many years ago, I poured all of my fears and my love into it,” said Charles. “I’ve read it at a few events, and it always seems to move people. I’m thankful I continue to get to work with the genius that is Ras, pairing my words with his visuals to share them more widely. I look forward to hearing how the piece is received by the jury later this year. I encourage people to watch the work, but not just watch it – hear it, feel it. Feel where it moves them.”
Mosera said, “Art is always a new frontier, a pursuit towards a new horizon or horizons, a spark of renaissance among the clutter in our heads. This piece hopefully also creates artistic sparks in the people who experience it.”
The art piece, in its entirety, can be viewed on YouTube as well and can be found by searching “The Sundering is Difficult” with either artist’s name.
