Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 22

Winnie Ama Sings 2020 Original in Supergirl Film, Reworked Into Bilquis Alien Language

Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 22

Winnie Ama Sings 2020 Original in Supergirl Film, Reworked Into Bilquis Alien Language

Q: How was an entire alien language built for just one song in DC's new 'Supergirl' movie?

DC’s *Supergirl* did not just invent a few alien-sounding lyrics; it commissioned a specialist to build and apply a full fictional language, Bilquis, so Winnie Ama could perform her song authentically on screen. Ama, a Belfast singer-songwriter making her acting debut as a bar singer on the planet Bilquis, was asked to perform her original track “What Are We” in that alien tongue. To do it, the production brought in an alien-language expert described as having worked on major constructed languages, including Klingon. His job was to translate the song line by line and syllable by syllable into Bilquis, rather than simply substituting random sounds. Ama has said the process was meticulous. She worked closely with the specialist on pronunciation, phonetics and delivery so the lyrics would sound consistent with the language’s internal rules. She was also taught the structure and origins of Bilquis, suggesting the language had a designed grammar and logic, not just a one-off set of words for the scene. That level of detail fit a broader production approach on *Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow*, which also used constructed alien speech elsewhere, including Kryptonian dialogue. In Ama’s case, the result was a fully translated performance of “What Are We” for an alien-bar sequence, turning a single song into a small but carefully built piece of the film’s worldbuilding.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 22

Winnie Ama appears in the new Supergirl film performing her 2020 song What Are We as a singing alien on the planet Bilquis after director Craig Gillespie spotted her at a bar gig.
An alien-language specialist translated the song word by word and syllable by syllable into Bilquis, with Ama saying the track's themes of conflict fit Supergirl's trauma-heavy story.
The Belfast singer, acting for the first time, won the part at audition within two weeks of that chance meeting and then filmed at Leavesden.
Production days started at 4 a.m., followed by about four hours of hand-applied hair and makeup to transform her into the Bilquis character.
The DC Studios film, released in UK cinemas on 25 June, stars Milly Alcock as Supergirl on a quest to save Krypto alongside Jason Momoa's Lobo.