How a Quirky Song Became an Award Winning Film

“And the winner is…”

The feet of a brown-skinned person standing in the pouring rain. They are wearing Vans sneakers. The text on the photo says "The Fish Don't Care When It Rains" "A Film by Jennifer Msumba" — Image description: The feet of a brown-skinned person standing in the pouring rain. They are wearing Vans sneakers. The text on the photo says “The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains” “A Film by Jennifer Msumba”

This was it. I was shaking in my chair, sitting in front of my computer wearing my nicest button shirt. I was in the Zoom waiting room. Whoever won Best Film for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge would be brought on live to get their reaction and say a few words.

It wouldn’t be me, would it? I didn’t even know how I had gotten this far. Out of 87 amazing films, I had become a finalist and a contender for Best Film in the whole competition!

The announcer paused, and then I heard the words but could barely believe them. “And the winner is…The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains!” Suddenly I was live on camera with hundreds of people watching me from their living rooms.

I cried. I couldn’t believe this was real life. My staff aide that works with me every evening hugged me. She was so proud. I said my thank you’s and accepted my award although I barely remember anything I said. Then it was over…for the moment.

Image description: A brown-skinned woman sits in a chair in front of her computer. She has glasses and a curly afro and is looking at the camera person with disbelief. Her computer screen has the logo for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge on it. There are also several people on a Zoom call on the screen.

My documentary film was part of an annual competition called the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. This was 2020, and they had switched to a home edition format because of Covid-19. The genre was documentary. This was my first year entering the competition, and I knew they had amazing films every year and that I would have to really bring my A-game.

So I thought a lot about the theme and story. I knew I didn’t have the best equipment or anyone to really help me shoot it, but I could tell a good story. I had been working on my storytelling skills lately and also writing a lot of songs during the quarantine. Songs are just mini stories. Wouldn’t it be great if I incorporated some of my original music into my film?

So I listened through my library of original songs. That’s when my new song The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains came to the forefront.

Image description: A brown skinned woman wearing a jean jacket vest, t shirt and shorts adjusts a tripod camera mount. She wears glasses and has a curly afro.

I had written that song for fun, and didn’t seem to notice how much meaning was actually packed in it. I mean, one day months beforehand I was out fishing on a nearby lake, and it started to sprinkle. The person I was with wanted to leave so she didn’t get wet. And that’s when I blurted out to her “The fish don’t care that it’s raining…they’re already wet!”

We laughed and then packed up our things and went home. But that line stuck with me. I wrote it down in my notebook. Months later, I found inspiration from that line and wrote the song. It goes like this:

I’m standing in the rain

Your hold on me has changed

Though you were tough, I’m stronger now

So let it pour on me

Though the water weighs me down

Keep it coming, I won’t drown

I’m protected from the lightning

And the thunder won’t hurt me now

Oh the fish don’t care when it rains

They’re already wet

It’s just another day for them in paradise

If paradise is what they’ve always known

And I can’t change where I’ve been

I’m already hurt

It’s just another day for me in paradise

If paradise was knowing not to cry

Oh why, oh why

If my eyes reflect my heart

My used and broken parts

Can’t you see I’m pre-disastered

And protected by my scars

See if my skin’s already thick

You can’t bite through all of it

Just let go and just let God

Heal my torn and broken heart

Although the song title is kind of funny, the actual song is about a serious topic. I have been through a lot of pain and struggle in the name of “treatment” for my autism. Those are things I can’t go back and change, but since I have gone through them, I am stronger. And it is harder to hurt me now because I’m already wet…I’m already hurt. And when people ask me what it’s like to be autistic, I can tell them that, since I’ve always been autistic, I don’t know anything else…just like fish, they don’t know what it’s like not to be wet, so they don’t mind the rain!

Image description: A brown skinned woman is kneeling down in front of the leaves of a corn plant. She is wearing glasses and has a curly afro.

All of this was the perfect theme for my documentary story. And I wrote my narration script quickly once I was inspired by my song lyrics. The result was a film that had humor and heart. What it lacked in flashiness it made up for with story. And that is something people love, a good story. That will stick with them.

Winning that competition has brought me many opportunities and prizes. I had been on several panels and Q&A’s and been screened in other festivals, was played on C-Span, featured in Variety Magazine, and I also just had an awesome meeting with NBC Universal where they screened our films and we did a Q&A with executives!

A screenshot of an Instagram story where a brown skinned woman is crying with happiness over a Zoom call. Her friend is consoling her. The text says "Best Picture" — Image description: A screenshot of an Instagram story where a brown skinned woman is crying with happiness over a Zoom call. Her friend is consoling her. The text says “Best Picture”

You never know where inspiration is going to come from. It could be a song, a dream, or even something you overhear a stranger say at a restaurant. If you would like to be a writer of songs, books or films- observe the world with fresh eyes. Try not to look at things the way you always have, but try to see things from another perspective. Like a fish’s!

The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is getting ready to take place again this march. I don’t know how I will do, but I will just do my best and have fun with the process. It is an incredible and inclusive event where everyone that enters gets an opportunity to be heard.