Sabrina Moella is a writer and a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. She writes stories for free-spirited Black women in search of healing. Born in France from Congolese parents, she grew up in Paris and started writing as soon as she was old enough to hold a pen. After an undergraduate in Media Studies (CELSA Paris IV-Sorbonne) and another one in Kiswahili and African Studies (INALCO), she started working as a journalist and TV writer in Paris under many pen names. She has worked or interned for several media outlets in Paris including Amina, Cité Black Paris, Couleur Metyss (print media), Fréquence Paris Plurielle, RTL (radio), France 2, France 5, France Ô. (TV) She received her first screenwriting nod for the short film "Letter to Abou," which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the "10 short films against racism" series in 2000.
After earning her Master's Degree in Marketing and Communications from La Sorbonne University (CELSA Paris IV-Sorbonne), Sabrina decided to move to Canada to pursue a career in the arts. She’s interested in topics such as immigration, womanhood, body image and family lineage. She is bilingual and writes both in English and in French.
Her poetry has been featured on various radio shows such as the LA-based show “Words on the Street” and the South African show “Badilisha Poetry.” She’s been published in international literary magazines such as “Freier, Magazin für Befindlichkeit” (Germany), “Blacknesses Between Us” (Canada), "Africultures : Décentrer, Déconstruire, Décoloniser" (France). As a filmmaker, her films ("Nappy Heads", "Missing", "I Love You") have screened at more than one hundred film festivals across Europe, Canada, Brazil and the US, including the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF Student Film Showcase and TIFF Kids International Film Festival), Urbanworld Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival and the Reel World Film Festival.
In 2014, Sabrina made her Broadway debut with her autobiographical one-woman play “Made in Congo,” which was part of the United Solo Festival. In 2015, she was invited to be a guest artist at the Pan African Space Station during the acclaimed “Beauté Congo” exhibit organized by the Cartier Foundation in Paris. In 2016, her second one-woman play “Balconies Are Made For Dreaming” debuted at the Piece of Mine Theatre Festival in Toronto.
Sabrina is a yoga practitioner who strongly believes in healing through the arts. She was one of the founding members of “I Get Out,” a collective of Black women storytellers from Toronto. While still living in France, she was part of a delegation of French-African women who were the youngest presenters at an international conference on girls’ education in Lusaka, Zambia, organized by UNESCO. She was also the recipient of a Paris Jeunes Aventures scholarship for a project on capoeira (À la recherche de la capoeira) that led her to travel to Brazil and do a photo exhibit presented at Paris City Hall upon her return to France.
Sabrina is a sought-after presenter for her expertise on books, media and storytelling. She has led workshops and done presentations as well as consulting work for several universities and organizations in North America including the University of San Francisco, the Kimpa Vita Institute (Boston) and the Mpenzi Festival in Canada, among others. She has also served as a juror several times for the Ontario Arts Council in the media arts and theatre categories both in English and in French.
In her daily life, Sabrina is a professional English to French translator who works freelance through her own business organization Binatranslates.
Sabrina is also the designer/creator of BinaSAPE, a custom-made brand of Congolese-inspired accessories and T-shirts.
Her first fiction novel FIFTEEN IS FOR PADDED CUPS was published in November 2021 by Kwambila Press.
In March 2024, she wrote and created her first bilingual podcast fiction series A SONG IN THE SKY/NZEMBO YA BÉNIE (Kwambila Productions) along with her mother to celebrate International Women’s Month and showcase Congolese women’s creativity. (the episodes are available both in English and in Lingala) She also serves as music composer and producer for the show.
Sabrina is currently working on her second fiction novel which will be published by Kwambila Press during the Summer 2024.
Sabrina's selected credits include LETTRE À ABOU (Cannes Film Festival, aired on France 2 / France 3 / TF1 / Canal+ Spain / TV Danmark / Rai Sat Spa (Italy)/ SBS Australia / ARTV Canada ) NAPPY HEADS (Toronto International Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival), I LOVE YOU (Reel World Film Festival, Langston Hughes Film Festival, Badami TV), FUNNY REASONS WHY I'M STILL SINGLE (webseries), BALCONIES ARE MADE FOR DREAMING (Piece of Mine Theatre Festival) and MADE IN CONGO (United Solo Theatre Festival on Broadway)
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