Documentary «Bel» Remembers Kenyan-Scottish Singer Beldina Odenyo

BBC Four has aired «Bel», a documentary about the Kenyan-Scottish singer-songwriter Beldina Odenyo. In October 2021, aged 31, she headlined a concert at Edinburgh's Usher Hall that those present remembered as extraordinary. Two weeks later, Odenyo took her own life.

The film is directed by Louise Lockwood. It opens a year after the singer's death and draws on her teenage video diaries, the recollections of people close to her, and the few recordings she kept on her computer in a folder named "passable demos". A key figure is her older sister, Leah McAleer, who wants to finish the album and release it independently.

Childhood and trauma

Odenyo was born in Kisumu, western Kenya, and spent her first years with her mother and siblings. At around six or seven she met her father for the first time and soon afterwards arrived in Scotland. McAleer recalls that the girl did not speak for the first three days.

The film also addresses mental illness, exile and racism. In the village of Kirkconnel in Dumfries and Galloway, Odenyo was the only Black pupil at her school, and her best friend describes severe physical abuse. In Glasgow, a friend called an ambulance when Odenyo was self-harming, but police arrived first; by her account, they broke down her door and treated her roughly. During lockdown she lived alone in Paisley.

Music and remembrance

Odenyo performed under the name Heir of the Cursed. Poet Jackie Kay, musician Lewis Semple and singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph all speak about her voice in the film. It ends in Kenya at Odenyo's grave, where McAleer plays the album.

The film is available on BBC iPlayer.