Following her remarkable performance as Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which poignantly touches on the passing of her co-star and friend Chadwick Boseman, Letitia takes the helm on another story that explores the theme of loss.
Aisha stars Letitia in the eponymous role, on her quest to seek asylum in Ireland from Nigeria.Through the complicated process, Aisha is dehumanised and left floundering in a maze of social services and bureaucracy. Alone and unwilling to sacrifice her dignity to satisfy the demands of the authorities, she finds an ally in Conor (The Crown’s Josh O’Connor), an employee at her residence home who has a troubled past of his own. Letitia was born in Georgetown, Guyana and emigrated to England when she was seven years old. For Letitia, embodying Aisha amplifies some parallels of her own journey.
How do you connect with the character of Aisha?
I found a deep connection with Aisha. I connected with her because I understood what it meant to be a young person moving from one country to the next and trying to find your way. I moved to the UK as a kid. I connected with her in deeper ways than I can share today. I’ve never come across another project that enabled me to put all of those feelings of my previous years into a character.
In different circumstances in my life, I’ve been told no. I’ve been told ‘no’ enough times to relate to Aisha deeply. I’ve been chucked out of houses and I’ve had to adjust to a new place. Breaking through is really hard - It's not as easy as I make it look. But I was able to connect to that and I was able to give that to Aisha.
What was the filming process like?
Well, this is the most stripped back performance I've ever done. It was no nonsense. I'm not saying anything I've done is nonsense - I’m just saying it was all from the heart. So, the performance is raw. During the shoot if anyone was like “Oh your make up is smudged” I’d be like "nah man I’m in my zone." Just hearing people's real experiences. It enabled me to understand why this story needed to be told. Because it is the experience of real people, and they've gone through so much - but there is hope.
How did you prepare for the role beyond your own personal connection?
From the research process I immediately sat down with so many people from all over the world who shared their experiences of seeking asylumn. I was able to tap into what they have experienced and just allow myself to be a vessel.
I spoke to so many women who are seeking a better life. They expressed many reasons for leaving their homes. They told me "I just want to create a better life for my child, I want to be a great mum, or I just want to get my foot in the door. " That’s all they want. Our film really takes a look at what it means for us to respect people who are seeking protection and giving them the chance to flourish. They are all amazing people. The stigma and stereotypes that prevails in the world about asylum seekers is just not the truth.
What do you hope viewers take away from Aisha?
I think Aisha explores what it means to be given an opportunity at life. They all just want to settle in a healthy environment where they can thrive. I would hope that people will feel a human connection. We tried to take the lived experience of someone and put that through the tunnel of arts and creativity. When you do that, you can only hope that people will walk away with a sense of understanding so perhaps they can help someone else.
What was your biggest lesson from playing Aisha?
Silence doesn't serve anybody. We follow Aisha’s journey and she's traumatised. She struggles to speak on her trauma. Aisha just bottled it in. As you watch the movie, people are trying to get her to speak but the trauma is too much for her to handle. She really taught me the power of speaking, releasing and sharing what you’ve gone through in order to take a positive step forward.
Playing her actually helped me get into therapy. I started therapy in Ireland whilst we were filming. She really taught me the importance of saving your mental health. After speaking to different people from all around the world, you realise how much mental health is really affecting people within these systems. They travel to other countries thinking it's going be one thing and then the processes are really long, and it deteriorates their mental health. There needs to be more support there.
Aisha taught me about strength and resilience as well because I had to be strong for her at a time when I couldn't be strong for myself. She has to be strong for so many different people; for her mother, community and someone she loves. So, Aisha’s such a treat to portray, but she also taught me something real as a woman as well.
Aisha will be available in cinemas and on Sky Cinema on 17 November