This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
Director: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese Run Time: 120 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2021
Starring: Jerry Mofokeng, Makhaola Ndebele, Mary Twala, Tseko Monaheng
Country: South Africa, Italy, United States, Lesotho
Language: Southern Sotho
Presented in the Virtual Screening Room in partnership with Dekanalog.
“A masterful tale of grief, belonging and defiance…breathtaking in its beauty and gut-wrenching in its sombre themes.”
– Sekese Rasephei for New Frame
About the film:
The first Lesotho film to be submitted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Earned the Special Jury Prize for Visionary Filmmaking at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and four Africa Movie Academy Awards: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design.
While preparing for her own death, 80 year old widow Mantoa receives word of an accident that has killed her only son, leaving her entirely alone, with only the respect of her community, the traditions of her ancestors, and the courage of her convictions. When her community must relocate to make way for a nearby dam which would flood her family’s burial ground, Mantoa draws a line in the sand and becomes an unlikely political and spiritual leader.
The late Mary Twala, recognizable from Beyoncé’s blockbuster musical Black Is King, gives a heartbreaking career-capping performance as Mantoa.
About the filmmaker:
Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese is a self-taught filmmaker from Lesotho, based in Berlin. His film Mother won six awards at the Final Cut in Venice workshop and went on to premiere at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. He was one of three filmmakers selected for the Biennale College—Cinema lab, with his feature film This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection. Mosese is an alumnus of many programs, including Focus Features’ Africa First and Cinéfondation’s L’Atelier.
Read about his deeply personal filmmaking journey in an interview with Devika Girish for Film Comment.
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