Q&A with Filmmaker Karimah Zakia Issa, Writer-Director of Oh, How She Dances
Oh, How She Dances • World Premiere • BFF 2026
World Premiering at the 2026 Bushwick Film Festival, Oh, How She Dances is a hybrid narrative-documentary drama following Dee through her first night at a strip club as her future self, STORRY, reflects on coercion, escape, and reclaiming her life through music. Set between past experience and present reflection, the film insists on understanding rather than pity.
Canadian-born, London-based filmmaker Karimah Zakia Issa co-wrote and directed the film with STORRY. Below, Issa discusses their longstanding collaboration, the formal possibilities of hybrid documentary, and the care required to shape a lived experience into a 22-minute work.
Tell us about the moment this film began for you.
STORRY and I have been collaborators for many years so this felt like a long time coming. She was feeling like individual music videos weren't having the impact they should and so approached me with the idea of making a short that features her music. We got cracking and eventually applied to grants.
What scene, character, image, or idea was the key that unlocked the film for you?
There's a scene where the past and present meet—for me that felt like it bent time in a way many of us are familiar with. It's both looking back at our younger selves, begging them to make different choices while also wishing they could see who you've become, wishing you could give them some of your strength.
Oh, How She Dances Trailer
Why did this story feel important for you to tell now?
We filmed in Toronto and Mississauga where STORRY lived through this experience. Part of what makes this feel so urgent today is that trafficking is often treated as a foreign or uncommon issue whereas more people need to understand that most often trafficking looks like a Canadian citizen being groomed by someone they already know and trust. Because it can happen so close to home it really takes a lot of touch points for people to not only understand but also feel comfortable having real conversations about it. We wanted to be one of those touch points.
What was the biggest creative challenge or risk you took in making the film?
We knew the decision to make this a hybrid narrative doc was going to be a challenge but at the same time it felt like one of the best ways to tell this story as fully as possible—being able to express the darkness of where this started as well as the brightness of the present and her future.
Was there a point when you weren’t sure you would finish the film? What kept you going?
The writing process was on-going up until production. It's a really unique circumstance to work with someone who's experienced what STORRY has and is in a place where she's physically and emotionally safe enough to create a world for people to understand it. It's incredibly taxing on her to relive terrible moments in her life but also to figure out how to shape years into a short narrative which involves deciding what isn't included in this telling of her story.
So there's a scene, after much deliberation, that was cut at the script stage. But we needed to make those hard choices otherwise we'd have a 10 hour film on our hands and 22 minutes was hard enough haha
What surprised you most about the film as it evolved from the original idea to the finished work?
Every musical element in the film was written, performed and co-produced by STORRY. We knew that would be the case but we had no clue how it was going to come together reworking songs from her newest album. The songs changed a lot and it shifted how the film feels too.
What do you hope audiences take away from experiencing the film?
STORRY's come a long way and though this is a challenging story to watch unfold she’s been adamant throughout that the goal isn’t to have audiences feel pity—our goal is to help them build understanding.
Is there anything about this film, its inspiration, production, or your own journey that you think audiences or journalists should know?
The hybrid documentary format is what makes this film so essential to us. It’s an opportunity for the audience to sit in on a conversation and take away insights from the varied and complex experiences of someone who’s lived life as a trafficked dancer, a dancer by choice and a retired dancer all at once. The music is another key element. Music is what was used to set the foundation for her trafficker and while with him her voice was never shared with the public—today, STORRY has built a successful music career on the other side of this experience and so it serves as a celebration of her strength and healing throughout the film. Every musical element in the film was written, performed and co-produced by STORRY.
What are you working on or developing next?
Together we're in the early stages of developing a series that evolves through the friendship and entrepreneurial endeavours of two women, with a broader look at the world of sex work/trafficking. It explores multiple perspectives, highlights absurdity and leaves room for humor while staying grounded in truth.
Based on your experience, what advice would you give to filmmakers just starting out?
Whatever your film becomes try to always start it with a feeling or experience that feels close to home. Something you're passionate about. The film doesn't have to be explicitly about that topic but it will fuel you.
What film, TV show, or other piece of storytelling did you see this year that you absolutely loved?
All seasons of Hacks! Brilliant series.
If you’ve been to Bushwick the neighborhood, what do you love most about it?
Bushwick is pure ENERGY: people, food, music, people people people. Big love for Bushwick :)
What does “Make Time for Your Dreams” mean to you at this point in your creative life?
Really take time to understand what your dreams are vs. the dreams you've been told to be chasing. I think that can take a lot of time to parse out because they become so entwined, so
See Oh, How She Dances at BFF 2026
WORLD PREMIERE
Friday • October 9, 2026 • 5:30 PM
BRAVE
Williamsburg Cinemas
Dee works her first night at the strip club, determined to save money for her music career. As she learns to navigate this world, her future self, STORRY, reflects on what dancing means for her and her journey.
GET TICKETS → https://www.bushwickfilmfestival.com/tickets
The 19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival returns October 7–11, 2026, bringing filmmakers and audiences together for five days of independent film, conversation, and community across Brooklyn.
Karimah Zakia Issa is a Canadian-born, London-based filmmaker whose work explores self-worth and the undercurrents of society. She was selected for the 2023 TIFF Filmmaker Lab and TIFF's Share Her Journey Fellowship.
SEE IT AT BFF 2026
Oh, How She Dances
NEW YORK PREMIERE
Friday, October 9
5:30 PM
BRAVE
Williamsburg Cinemas
GET TICKETS
5:30 PM
BRAVE
Williamsburg Cinemas
